


Seduction

by Mia_Fitzpatrick



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2014-10-18
Packaged: 2017-11-26 20:51:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/654297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mia_Fitzpatrick/pseuds/Mia_Fitzpatrick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasuke Uchiha has decided that his second wife will be someone intelligent, sensible and independent. He already had the perfect candidate. The only problem was Sakura Haruno refuses to say yes. AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> My first foray into Naruto fanfiction (and SasuSaku in particular).
> 
> I do not own Naruto. Plot elements inspired by Amanda Quick's 'Seduction'. But the writing, dialog, characterization (basically everything out of the very basic premise) is mine.

"Let me make sure I heard you correctly. She declined my proposal?" Sasuke Uchiha said through gritted teeth, the expression of controlled anger marring his handsome face.

Hatake Kakashi, the renowned copy-nin of Konoha, wasn't a man that was easily intimidated, especially not by snot-nosed former students. But the aura of danger that had always followed the youngest Uchiha seemed to have exponentially increased in what he deemed was an insult and embarrassment to his person. He clasped his hands together to control his shaking muscles before he spoke. "Sakura has said that while she is very flattered and honored with your offer, she would have to pass. She is sure that you would have no problems in searching for another bride." He gulped before adding the next statement. "One that would be willing."

Sasuke gripped the long glass in his hand tighter, almost threatening to break it. "I do not mean to belittle your ward, but she is aware that her options are rather…limited. I've been very generous with doing away with a trousseau. She cannot possibly think that a better offer of marriage would come."

While Sasuke knew that many dark rumors came with his name, including one that he refused to even think about, he was very much a catch as far as husbands go. Aside from his high-ranking status as Jounin, at merely twenty-five years of age, he has acquired much wealth in his life, a birth title as an heir of the Uchiha name, good looks and if the gaggle of village girls were to be believed, exceptional skills in the bedroom. How dare this slip of a girl, with no name and no money to her, deny him her hand in marriage?

Kakashi sighed, now more irritated than afraid of the young man in front of him. "Sakura is aware of her lot in life. She does not mean to offend you with her decision but she truly believes that you both would be better off looking for your destinies elsewhere."

Sasuke's jaw clenched as he tried to control his temper. "Perhaps, if I could speak to her, I would be able to talk some sense into her."

The copy-nin almost rolled his eyes at the condescending tone of the younger ninja. It seemed he had not changed at all from his days as genin. Still as arrogant and completely full of himself. "That would not be possible. Sakura left early this morning for her training."

Sasuke almost threw the glass in his hand at his former sensei's head. "She didn't even have the courtesy to stay to give me her answer?" he asked incredulously, his chest puffing out with anger.

"As Sakura sees it, there is no need for a discussion. Her mind is made up." Kakashi clamped down the laughter trying to bubble out of his throat. It was not everyday that a woman riled up the proud Uchiha. And Sakura wasn't even present. "If that is all, Sasuke, I will request that you take your leave. We still have many chores to do around the house."

Sasuke sneered before rising up so suddenly that the chair toppled backwards. He ignored the banging of wood behind him as he walked out of the house without so much as a goodbye to its owners. Politeness be damned, he had a mission.

…

Sakura Haruno huffed as she trudged up the small hill overlooking the farming community of Konoha. The tiny but pleasant looking hut marked her final destination. She walked around the dwelling and to the backyard. The pungent smell of alcohol and herbs hit her face and she had to scrunch her nose to keep it out.

She spotted the blond, busty woman towards the back of the small garden, sitting on her haunches and studying a cluster of dark green leaves growing on the soil.

"Shishou, isn't it a bit too early for bourbon and," Sakura sniffed the air in distaste, "Is that cigar smoke?"

Tsunade waved her over with the hand holding her cigar, without looking at her. "You best remember that I am your elder, Sakura. Now come over here and look at this herb for me. I assume you didn't travel all the way up here just to scold me about my habits."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Old dogs and their old tricks. She grabbed a low stool from a shed in the corner and walked towards the woman. She plopped down her chair right in front of Tsunade, so the plant in question was right between them.

"What is that anyway?" she asked curiously.

Tsunade rubbed a leaf between her fingers, testing its texture and consistency. "It grows in the west. They're very territorial about their herbs so the last time I was there I smuggled seeds in my pack. I was trying to see if I could reproduce it here."

Sakura arched an eyebrow at her master. "Must be a very special herb that you would risk Konoha's foreign relations for it. What does it do?"

Tsunade smirked widely at her apprentice. "They call it the fountain of youth. It's much more potent than the ones I use to get rid and prevent wrinkles."

Sakura gaped openly at her. "You willingly risked getting arrested for smuggling seeds of all things and possibly starting a war between Konoha and the west in the name of ridding yourself of wrinkles?" she asked, tone escalating with every word.

Tsunade simply shrugged, ignoring the horrified tone of the younger woman. "This is important to me."

Sakura simply shook her head with disbelief. She should be used to her shishou's odd ways by now but there were still times when she would surprise Sakura with her utter vanity and capriciousness. "You know if you spend half the effort you do with these anti-aging medicines, you'd probably be able to find cures for most of the world's terminable diseases."

"That's what you're here for Sakura," Tsunade said with humor as she patted the pink haired woman's thigh. "Say, aren't you supposed to be at home getting engaged to the Uchiha brat?"

Sakura cursed the elder woman's impeccable memory, that wasn't at all diminished with her constant inebriation. "Kakashi-sensei should be taking care of that as we speak."

Tsunade furrowed her eyebrows at her. "You didn't accept?"

Sakura shook her head, her pink hair dancing against her shoulder blades. "I've relayed my answer to Kakashi-sensei. There is no need to interrupt my everyday schedule for that."

Tsunade's chin jutted out as she looked at her young apprentice. "Why did you say no? Judging from how you fawned over that brat when you were younger I thought you'd have been jumping for joy that he'd chosen you for his next bride."

Sakura laughed mirthlessly at the reminder of her younger self. "Well, youth is riddled with stupidity and I was no different. I've grown up, Tsunade-shishou."

"This doesn't have anything to do with that hogwash about him murdering his first wife? You should know better than to believe those rumors, Sakura. As much as I find his personality repugnant, that boy is innocent of those claims. And besides, if he did indeed murder that witch of a woman, I would not blame him at all," Tsunade said with absolute surety.

"I was the one who investigated Patrice's death. I would know better than anyone else that Sasuke had no hand in the matter," Sakura responded quickly. "And it is rude to call her a witch. She was just a girl who was in over her head."

Tsunade ignored the light scolding. Sakura was too concerned with propriety as far as she was concerned. "Then why did you not accept his proposal?"

Sakura smiled wistfully, the sunlight making her pink hair seem brighter than usual. "I wish to marry for love."

Tsunade chuckled at what she deemed was the girl's romantic delusions. "Good luck with that."

"You are far too cynical for your own good, shishou. It could still happen," Sakura cried defensively, the hint of a smile on the corner of her lips.

"Perhaps. But in case it doesn't my hut has an extra room. Us barren old maids can live together and search for the secrets of eternal youth," Tsunade offered.

Sakura laughed heartily. "I will look forward to that."

They spent the rest of the day working on Tsunade's illegally smuggled plants and Sasuke Uchiha's name was not mentioned once.

…

Sasuke pulled out the platinum watch from his pocket, staring at the long hand as it slowly made its way up. To say he was confused was an understatement. He had thought that Sakura was the most suitable candidate to become his wife. She was the most skilled kunoichi of their generation, sensible, intelligent and independent. She would not pester him with demands for attention the way a younger woman would and he would not have to deal with their naiveté and fairy tale ideals of marriage. She was strong and could easily defend herself against his enemies and he wouldn't have to constantly coddle her. He supposed he should have foreseen that she might not be as easy to sway since she did have a mind of her own. He just thought that she wouldn't outright say no to him. He knew she had held a torch for him when they were younger. As teammates she had constantly (unsuccessfully) tried to flirt with him. He never gave her the time of day. Aside from her ridiculous pink hair, there wasn't anything at all remarkable about Sakura Haruno back in the day. Although he was quite aware that that was no longer true now.

Sasuke looked up and watched Sakura slip between the rusty gates of the Northern end of the Uchiha distract. A hand basket that seemed to be filled to the brim with herbs was hooked on one arm and a bundle of books was under the other. The area was barren land as most of their clan resided in the Eastern and Western portions of the Uchiha land. He knew that she routinely took this shortcut on the way back from her training with the Sannin Tsunade.

Sakura Haruno, Sasuke thought, was very much life fine wine, growing more distinct and delectable with age. When they were younger she was an awkward little thing with her long, gangly limbs and a forehead that seemed to take over her face. When she had hit twenty-one years of age it seemed that her body just decided to get its act together. Gone was the tall and gangly girl and in its place was a statuesque woman who had legs that went on for days. Her forehead was still huge but it only seemed to compliment her striking green eyes and iridescent pink lips. Her hair was still a ridiculous pink but it was silky and lustrous, something he wouldn't mind running his fingers through during the act of making love.

He walked up to her, blocking her path. She seemed completely oblivious of his presence.

"Sakura," he greeted curtly.

She dropped the books in her arm in shock but tried to school her face into a serene expression, unwilling to let him know that he had caught her unaware. "Lord Uchiha."

He chewed the inside of his cheeks with irritation at the way she addressed him, as if they hadn't been teammates before. "Sasuke-kun."

She looked at him, unaffected. "I am aware of your name."

Sasuke shook his head at her. "It was what you called me before. I would prefer you would address me the same way."

Sakura scoffed at him. "That name is far too familiar, I would prefer to call you in your more proper and rightful address." And as if to just rile him up she said again, "Lord Uchiha."

He clenched his fists at his side. The woman was a lot more troublesome than he had initially thought. "If that is what you wish," he drawled. "You are aware that you are trespassing my property."

She looked around and acted as if she had not known she was within the confines of the Uchiha district. "Forgive me, I shall leave immediately."

Sakura moved to pick up the books she dropped but he acted quickly. He grabbed the books by the tightrope that held it together and moved it away from her reach. "You have my permission."

"How magnanimous of you," she retorted, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You do not have to bother yourself with your permission though, I will make sure not to pass this way in the future."

"It wouldn't be gentlemanly of me to let you take the longer route to get to your home," he drawled as he handed her books back to her, intentionally letting his fingers flit over her wrist. He smirked at the way she seemed to shiver at his touch.

"Do not worry yourself with gentlemanly manners. I will not think any less of you," she said a bit breathily.

"That will make me sleep better tonight," he teased her, much to her consternation.

She moved to walk past him but he held onto her wrist before she could make one step. Her skin was much smoother than he expected and their closeness let him smell the vanilla scent of her hair. "It is a good thing I ran into you, though. I had wanted to speak with you earlier but Kakashi informed me that you were not around."

She gulped nervously, knowing perfectly well what he wanted to talk about. "There is nothing to discuss, Lord Uchiha," she said decidedly, green eyes staring back at his obsidian ones brazenly.

"I disagree," he drawled, the heat of his breath fanning over her face. "You see, Sakura, I've made up my mind that you will be my new wife."

Those words only seemed to increase her ire as she ripped her wrist away from his hold. "If you think you can bully me into submission-"

He began to protest at her choice of words but she glared at him to muteness.

"You have another thing coming," she said staunchly. "You better unmake your mind Lord Uchiha because my decision is final. I will not marry you."

She turned on her heels with her head held high and walked away from him with angry stomps of her feet, refusing to wait for his reply.

Sasuke stared with wide eyes after the pink haired kunoichi before his mouth twisted into a satisfied smirk. It seemed he had been wrong about her. She would not make him the most suitable wife. Sakura Haruno would be perfect.

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke Uchiha has decided that his second wife will be someone intelligent, sensible and independent. He already had the perfect candidate. The only problem was Sakura Haruno refuses to say yes. AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Plot elements borrow heavily from Amanda Quick's "Seduction".

**Seduction**

**Chapter Two**

Sakura Haruno couldn't have come from a more ordinary family.

Her grandparents on her father's side migrated to Konoha from Cloud when famine had hit the farming country. In Konoha, they had a small land where they planted corn and potatoes and sold their produce in the wet market. Her father married a local flower merchant's daughter. It has been said that his parents disapproved because she had such whimsical pink hair and they considered it bad luck. Nonetheless the couple lived happily, continuing the family tradition of farming. They were neither very rich nor very poor and they were fine with that.

The Harunos had two daughters. Sakura, the eldest one, was sweet if a bit insecure. She exhibited an unheard potential, for ordinary people like them, to become a ninja. The other daughter, Sayuri, was five years younger than her older sister. She did not inherit her mother's pink hair but she had always been beautiful even as a child. Perhaps that was why the family always favored her.

When Sakura was eighteen and Sayuri was thirteen, their mother and father suffered from a bacterial infection after drinking contaminated water. Sakura was away on a month-long mission and Sayuri had never possessed her sister's quick-thinking and smarts. By the time Sakura had come back there was only enough time left for her to watch her parents be lowered six feet beneath the ground.

Sakura was left with the responsibility of taking care of her younger sister and her grandparents on her father's side. She didn't know anything about farming. She only knew of being a ninja and that wasn't paying the bills. That was when her former sensei came to her rescue. His house was too big for one bachelor, was what he said. And he just pitied her a little bit. She sold their farming land and gave the money to Kakashi to help with the expenses. She began training under Tsunade in hopes of honing her skills further which would allow her to take on the higher paying A-rank missions. She stopped trying to get Sasuke's attention.

At twenty-two, disaster struck again. On a Thursday morning, Sakura went to wake up Sayuri for breakfast. She found the more beautiful Haruno sister with a braided rope hanging from the ceiling fan wrapped around her neck. Since then she had become more reclusive, focusing all her energy on taking care of her grandparents and her work as a medical ninja.

Sasuke stared at the dossier in front of him with narrowed eyes. He had asked a clan member to gather information on Sakura Haruno. It was a strange feeling, finding out so much more about a person you knew practically all your life, on a piece of paper. He didn't even know she had a sister. He knew of course that she had parents; she didn't just sprout up from the ground. He never did remember her ever talking about her family as she had always been more focused on finding out things about him, not that her efforts led anywhere. But he thought he should've at least known how her parents died and her sister committed suicide four years later. What had he been doing all that time? His lips thinned into a grim line, of course, he had been married to a most infuriating and duplicitous woman-child. He could feel his blood boiling but the anger he felt at the memory of his former wife was immediately tempered with the reminder of her death.

Sasuke sighed and leaned against the backrest of the wingback chair. His nails lightly scratched the leather upholstery of the armrests as he considered how he could use this information to his advantage. Obviously, Sakura has had a hard life. It seemed that up to now she still struggled to keep up with the expenses of taking care of two senior citizens. Sasuke tapped a finger on his chin, make that three; Kakashi wasn't getting any younger and probably couldn't help her as much as he used to. He wondered when was the last time Sakura had splurged any money on herself. He thought back to the day he'd encountered her in the Uchiha district, and while he did think she looked beautiful, he couldn't help but notice how old and unfashionable her clothes were.

That's when an idea hit him. He smirked and mentally patted his back.

…

"Forehead! What is your problem?"

Sakura looked up from the clipboard in her hand around the same time everyone else in the crowded hospital ward turned their attention to the incensed blond marching dangerously down the hallway.

The click of Ino's heels halted as soon as she was nose to nose with Sakura. "Well? Tell me, what is your problem?"

Sakura tapped her pen against her clipboard, her lips curling into a moue. "I can't really think of anything," she answered looking confounded.

Ino threw her hands up in the air. "Then for heaven's sake, tell me why you turned down Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sakura looked even more perplexed. "Because I didn't want to marry him?" she intoned as if she wasn't sure if it was the right answer.

"That doesn't make sense at all!" Ino sounded as frustrated as all cometh.

Sakura rolled her eyes and began walking towards her office at the end of the hall, knowing that Ino would follow her. "It makes perfect sense. Why would I marry him? He's ignored me all his life, we barely know each other and we obviously do not love each other. It's like an idiot-proof recipe for a disastrous marriage."

Ino skipped on her feet to catch up to Sakura's fast strides. "My dear naïve, Sakura," she began and Sakura held herself back from hitting her friend's patronizing tone, "Marriage isn't about love, rainbows, puppies and all that claptrap. It's a lot of hard work with more politics involved than the state government itself."

"Oh please, Ino. Don't talk as if you're the high chancellor on marriages. You've just gotten really lucky that the man who proposed to you also happened to love you," Sakura said, not without a hint of bitterness.

Ino let out a snort that as was as piggish as her skin. "Did you really think that Shikamaru was in love with me when he proposed? My husband is so lazy he probably just decided to marry the nearest breathing female, who wasn't his relative, he could think of. We got along as friends, although he never fails to mention how troublesome he finds me, but love, Sakura, love came much later."

"Regardless, Shikamaru and Sasuke Uchiha are two very different people. Your husband may find everything troublesome but at least he isn't pig-headed and cold," she retorted.

"Now you're just being judgmental. When was the last time you really talked to him? He's gone through a lot over the years, who knows how much he's changed?" Ino insisted.

Sakura sighed as she reached for the doorknob to her office. "It doesn't matter anyhow, I've already given him my answer and that's that," she said stubbornly.

The medic-nin turned the knob and opened the door wide only to be assaulted by the pithy smell of roses. In a second she was suffering from a fit of uncontrollable sneezing.

Ino had the most girlish grin on her lips as her eyes took in the once plain office that was now filled from wall to wall with bouquets of red roses. She was even more pleased that they all appeared to have been bought from her family's flower shop. "You may have given him your answer, but I don't think he gives up that easily."

Sakura, who was still recovering from her sneezing fit, rubbed the back of her hand against her nose. Her face had become splotchy and her eyes teary and red. "We don't know it's from him. It may be from someone who completely hates me seeing as I'm allergic to roses," she deadpanned.

Ino handed a handkerchief to her pink-haired friend. "I bet that would tell us," she said before nodding towards a flat, velvet box that was sitting on top of Sakura's consultation desk.

The two women walked towards the desk and reached for the envelope resting above the blue velvet box at the same time.

Sakura arched an eyebrow at Ino. "It is addressed to me, you know," she said churlishly.

The blond smiled cheekily at her before letting go of her hold on the envelope.

Sakura ripped the envelope open and pulled out the plain white stationery neatly placed inside. She felt Ino's chin touching her shoulder as the blond tried to get a glimpse of the note.

"Would you like me to just read it to you?" Sakura asked sardonically.

Ino wasn't the least bit affected. "Yes, that would be very helpful."

Sakura rolled her eyes but knowing how persistent Ino could be, she started reading aloud, "To my dearest Sakura. I hope this is to your liking. There is more where this came from. Yours, Uchiha Sasuke."

Before Sakura could even blink, Ino already had the velvet box opened in her hands.

"Oh my!" Ino exclaimed with an exaggerated gasp.

Sakura could have sworn she'd gone blind for a complete minute from the luster of the brilliant round, lariat type necklace that was arranged meticulously inside the box.

"You're not yet married and he's already showering you with such generous gifts. What do you think of that, Sakura?" Ino asked excitedly.

"That chauvinist pig!"

"You are much too hard on pigs, you realize that?"

Sakura just glared at Ino in return. "He thinks that because I'm a woman I could be easily distracted by something shiny!" It would've sounded much more serious if it wasn't punctuated by a sneeze.

"Come now, Sakura. You're just looking for reasons to hate him," the blond said nonchalantly, her fingers moving over the diamond necklace reverently.

Sakura reached for the box and snapped it shut; Ino barely had time to save her fingers from some nasty splinters. She dropped her clipboard on the desk and pivoted around towards the door.

"Where are you going? It's the middle of your shift," Ino yelled at Sakura as the pink-haired woman pulled the door open.

"You can take over it since you're so helpful," Sakura yelled over her shoulder as she stormed towards the hospital exit.

…

Sakura's temper had simmered down by the time she reached the Uchiha district, which was a good thing since she didn't think yelling and throwing tantrums would get her point across. She made her way over to Sasuke's house; she knew his address like the back of her hand. Years of stalking had ingrained the information in her head.

A uniformed man met her at the front entrance, his palm coming up in a motion for her to stop.

"I'm here to see Uchiha Sasuke," she said crisply.

"Miss Sakura Haruno?"

Sakura pointed to her pink hair as if it were her personal identification card.

The man cleared his throat. "Lord Uchiha has given us instructions that you are free to come and go into his home and in the district as you please," he said as if it were the greatest honor that could ever be bestowed upon her. Sakura's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "This way, madam."

Sakura followed the guard who kept looking back at her every second or so as if he was afraid she would suddenly bolt. Uchihas were most definitely a paranoid lot.

They reached double doors made of solid wood and had intricate carvings on the borders. No doubt the man behind these doors thought themselves very important.

"This is Lord Uchiha's personal study," the guard announced as if on cue. He turned the knobs and opened the door. Sakura peeked from behind the guard's large back and immediately recognized the infamous chicken ass hair.

"Lord Uchiha, Miss Haruno is here to see you."

"Let her in and leave us be," Sasuke commanded.

The guard motioned for Sakura to step inside the room. As soon as she crossed doorway, he gave her a courteous bow and swiftly shut the door behind her.

"This is quite a lovely surprise, Sakura."

She whipped her head around to find Sasuke looking at her as if she were a sumptuous meal. He was standing behind a Victorian desk littered with paper and random knickknacks. Her hands itched to clean it.

"I was actually planning to visit you at your home after your hospital shift but I'm glad you were as anxious as I was to see you," he said smugly.

Sakura gave him the stink eye. "Don't flatter yourself," she drawled. "I came to return your gift." She walked up to the desk and held the hand holding onto the velvet box out.

Sasuke frowned, his dark eyebrows meeting at the top of his nose. He regarded the box warily. "Is it not to your liking? If you'd prefer a different design or cut, just tell me and I'll have it made for you. Money is no object."

She could feel her ears burning as her temper started rising once more. "It is not the cut or the design, Lord Uchiha," she mimicked mockingly. "If you think that such shallow baubles will change my mind about your proposal then you obviously do not know me. Not to mention that this is thoroughly insulting. I cannot be bought as if I were canned tomatoes at a grocery store!"

"I actually prefer fresh tomatoes, they're plump and juicy," he said with a leer.

Sakura couldn't hold it in any longer. The box flew from her hand and careened in the air before landing right smack against Sasuke's patrician nose.

"Holy fuck! Ow!"

Her mouth dropped with a loud gasp. "What in the world were you thinking? You were supposed to duck, you're a ninja for god's sake!"

Even as she admonished him she was already walking around the desk to his side. She pried his fingers away from his injured nose and flinched at the sight of the bump that was already developing right at the bridge and blood trickling down his chin.

"Hold still, you baby," she scolded as he tried to push her hands away.

He glared at her in return. "It hurts!"

"And it will continue to hurt unless you let me heal it!"

He pouted but finally let her touch the abused part of his face.

Chakra flowed to the tips of her fingers and she felt the broken appendage mend itself under his skin. They were standing so close together that she could smell his aftershave, reminding her that he was no longer the hairless teenaged boy she knew in her adolescence. It was ironic how a man so cold could emit such heat.

Sasuke noticed that Sakura was lingering longer than necessary. He placed his hands tenderly on her hips, loving the feel of her generous curves.

"Does this mean I'm making progress?"

A loud smack was heard all around Konoha.

"What was that for?" he asked confusedly.

"For feeling me up, you swine," she returned hotly. She walked a safe distance away from him. "And if you try that again I will make sure you I break more than just your nose."

She stomped towards the exit and slammed the door behind her. So much for not throwing tantrums. A mere second later her pink head popped back in.

"Also, I am allergic to roses. A dozen more of those evil flowers and it would've been Kakashi in here arresting you for my murder," she said dramatically.

Sasuke tilted his head to the side. "How about daisies?"

Sakura growled out in frustration before shutting the door in his face.

…

"Teme! I heard Sakura-chan shot you down!"

Sasuke eyed Naruto as if he were an impertinent insect. "Of course not. We are simply at an impasse. The negotiations are still well underway."

"Uh-huh, is that why you have that purple bump on your nose?" Naruto asked with a knowing grin.

"She's very passionate."

Naruto cackled loudly, his face turning red from the lack of oxygen.

Sasuke tsked. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be at Ichiraku's right about now?"

"I figured you'd need some company."

"I don't."

Naruto ignored him. "And your new cook makes some awesome ramen!"

"Free-loader," Sasuke muttered under his breath before pushing a red button on a box on his desk. "Enzo, bring some ramen in for the peasant."

Naruto grinned widely, his gloriously white teeth brightening up the room, as he leaned his hands on the desk and rested his chin on his conjoined hands. "What really happened, teme?"

Sasuke sighed before deciding to tell him the truth. "I gave her a necklace and she said I was trying to buy her."

"Well, were you?"

Sasuke scoffed and looked thoroughly affronted. "Of course not! I was merely trying to show her the kind of comfort and luxury I could provide her with once she agrees to marry me. Something I know she's never experienced in all her years. And I would've explained it to her quite nicely if she didn't decide to maim me with my own gift."

"Still sounds like you're trying to buy her."

"I wasn't, alright!" he exclaimed. "I never imagined it would be this difficult to get her to say yes."

"Oh trust me, Sasuke, many men before you have had to work much harder," Naruto said.

"But I'm Uchiha Sasuke! Women do not deny me, I deny them!"

"That's probably something you shouldn't say in front of Sakura unless you want your balls severed," the blond ninja deadpanned.

"Shut up." Sasuke continued to sulk, not minding that his best friend was there to witness it. Oh the lows he was going through for one woman.

Naruto grabbed a snow globe from Sasuke's desk and began juggling it in his hands. "You know, you're really going about this all wrong."

Sasuke sat up and eyed him with little confidence. "What do you mean?"

"First, Sakura's never been materialistic. I mean, I know she's been struggling with taking care of her grandparents and what not but she's surviving, that's enough for her. She's not the type to want more. I mean, she was obsessed with you once but I'm pretty sure it wasn't because of the amount of gold bullions in your vault," he answered, eyes still focused on the snow globe jumping from hand to hand.

Sasuke leaned forward, now rather intrigued. "Continue." Naruto did have his moments of brilliance after all.

"Why don't you try digging deep and think about what made her fall for you in the first place?" Naruto said right before the snow globe slipped from his hand and dropped to the floor, shattered glass and soap flakes spreading everywhere.

"By gods, Naruto, you're a genius!" Sasuke proclaimed, shooting up to his feet impatiently.

"What did I say?"

"Of course, she fell for my dashing good looks!"

"Your modesty astounds me," Naruto said with a straight face.

"But we're not eight anymore. I can't just smirk at her to have her twittering like an idiot like before," Sasuke continued as if he hadn't heard his friend at all. His mouth twisted into a lecherous smirk. "We've both grown up and it's time for me to seduce her with the ways of men and women."

"That sounds really gross," Naruto interjected, his whiskered face turning rather green.

"What do you know, Naruto? You can be quite useful at times," he said. "You're still paying for the snow globe you broke, by the way."

_To be continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Seduction in its truest sense.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke Uchiha has decided that his second wife will be someone intelligent, sensible and independent. He already had the perfect candidate. The only problem was Sakura Haruno refuses to say yes. AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Plot elements borrow heavily from Amanda Quick's "Seduction".

**Seduction**

**Chapter Three**

Sasuke made sure that for this morning he would be impeccably groomed. Not that his appearance had ever known the definition of being scruffy. He had been shaved, scrubbed and dressed to absolute to perfection for one purpose and one purpose only.

He looked up to study his reflection on the opaque glass dividers in front of him. He smoothed down the collar of his shirt and ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up just enough to make it seem careless.

"Sir."

The small squeak belonged to tiny redheaded nurse who looked like she was either on the verge of jumping him or fainting.

"Hn."

"Dr. Haruno is available to see you now, sir," she said shakily, her chest rising up and down rapidly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He almost wanted to smack her and tell her to pull herself together but that would require too much effort.

"She doesn't know it's me?" he confirmed.

The young nurse blushed. "I gave her the wrong patient file on purpose. I do it all the time anyway," she said, inexplicably proud of herself. Then as if just realizing she'd admitted to her own ineptness, she added, "Don't tell her I said that."

"I have no plans of bringing you up in our…conversation," he said cryptically. For a moment he lost himself in the fantasy in his head of what was going to transpire in that examination room.

He had been pulled back to reality when he felt the nurse clutch his arm, her eyes glistening with happiness and thanking him profusely.

"Can you not drool on my shirt?" It sounded more like a command than a request. He ripped his arm away from her hold. "Which room is it again?"

"Room 320," she twittered.

Sasuke walked away from the compliant nurse towards the specified room without giving her so much as a look of acknowledgment. He opened the door and walked inside with soft footfalls.

Sakura was standing with her back towards the door facing what looked like a supplies cabinet.

"Hey, just make yourself comfortable on the examination table and I'll be right with you," she said, her melodious voice filling the room.

Sasuke easily propped himself up on the table and sat on the cushions, feet dangling in the air. He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward as he watched her clean her station up. She was wearing an immaculately white lab coat that reached the back of her knees. Her bulky grey loafers made her ankles look thin and fragile.

Sakura picked up a manila folder sitting on a desk beside her and flipped it open. Her eyes moved as she read the file, slowly turning around to face him.

"So, Mr. Kobayashi, what seems to be the prob-" Her query was interrupted by an undignified squeal once her eyes landed on Sasuke's face. "Kami, Sasuke, what are you doing here?"

He couldn't help the small smile on his lips as he heard his name leave her lips. "I'm your next patient."

Sakura looked utterly confused as she looked back to the file in her hand and then up to him once again. "But the file says…oh god, she did it again," she cried exasperatedly. "Wait here."

Sasuke smirked as Sakura walked outside the room. He did kind of feel bad that the mix up would be blamed on the nurse since it seemed like this was a mistake she committed all the time. But it did serve his purpose of catching Sakura without her guard up. None of his methods would work if she had her defenses ready.

She walked back to the room with another set of folders in her hands. Her face was flustered from obvious irritation. She eyed Sasuke warily. "Don't think I'm not onto you," she snapped.

He spread his arms out innocently. "I'm not doing anything."

"Why are you here?"

"Well, I needed to see a doctor and you're," he couldn't help his impish grin, "a doctor."

She rolled her eyes. "Let's just get on with this. What's your problem?"

"Is that how you speak to all your patients?"

"How I speak to my patients isn't any of your business," she retorted.

He tilted his head to the side and bit back a grin. The sight of Sakura Haruno with her feathers unruffled was a surprising turn on. He held his palms up. "I concede."

Her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously but she didn't say anything.

"I've been feeling muscle pains on my lower abdomen the past few nights. It may have something to do with an injury I sustained in my last mission. I was hoping you would take a look at it."

Before she could say anything Sasuke began methodically unbuttoning his shirt, his fingers moving slowly and surely as if he was directing her eyes to follow his movements. He pushed his arms back as he shimmied off the sleeves, making sure that the muscles on his chest and abs flexed. His eyes never left her face and he smiled in satisfaction when he heard her gulp and lick her lips involuntarily.

"I can feel it right here," he said huskily as he pressed three fingers on a spot below his belly button. "It aches especially when I'm alone in bed at night."

"Uh-huh," she said breathlessly.

"What do you think?"

"I think it looks good," she blurted out and flushed red when she realized what she had just said. "I mean it looks fine, I mean I don't see anything wrong," she stuttered out before looking at her feet.

"Are you sure? Maybe you should come closer so you can examine it better," he licked his lips, "doctor."

"Right, doctor. I'm a doctor," she babbled out. "I'm going to examine you now."

Sakura walked with rickety steps towards him, the redness on her face now spreading towards her neck. He wondered how far down that blush went. As soon as she was close enough, he grabbed her hand and placed it right above the spot he had pointed to earlier. He placed his hand over hers, putting gentle pressure on her fingers.

"It's right here. Can you feel anything?" he asked, his face the picture of innocence.

She licked her lips that had dried up and it was all he could do not to follow that tongue with his own. Her eyes travelled down his chest, going over his defined abs and landing on their joined hands resting just above where his treasure trail started.

"It doesn't feel like there's anything wrong," she said breathily, still not looking up at him. "It may be just psychological but I'll prescribe you pain relievers and we can schedule you for another check up next week to see if it's still occurring."

"Hmm." He nodded as if to agree with her. He wondered if she noticed that her hand was still on his stomach even after he had removed his hold on it.

"Oh my," she gasped suddenly. Her hand moved up to a spot three inches underneath his left nipple.

Sasuke didn't really think she would be that forward, but hey. "See something you like?" he said smugly.

Sakura looked up at him as if she'd forgotten he was there at all despite the fact that her fingers were currently caressing his chest. Well, not really caressing more like poking at it.

"Are you aware that you have supernumerary nipple?"

Sasuke sputtered. "What?"

"A third nipple!" she said much too excitedly. She poked at the spot again. "It's right here. It really looks more like a mole but I'm quite sure it's a third nipple."

"Will you stop saying third nipple?" he said snappishly. Okay, this was going downhill very fast. "And I do not have…that! I'm not some sort of freak!"

Sakura giggled at the horrified expression on his face. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's actually very common especially among males but this is the first time I'm seeing one up close. It appears in what they call the milk line." She then drew a line with her finger from his armpit to his nipple and a straight line down his stomach. His breath hitched at the feel of her touch. Too bad she was looking at him as if he was some sort of medical experiment.

"Can we please stop talking about this?" he asked self-consciously.

Sakura crossed her arms under her chest, looking at him with concern. "If it really bothers you that much, you can always have it removed. I'll refer you to the best cosmetic surgeon we have at Konoha General Hospital," she said with a straight face.

…

Naruto was peacefully enjoying his hot bowl of ramen when an angry wind stormed past him.

"Hey teme! How'd it go with Sakura?" he yelled after the black blur cheerily.

"Shut up!"

Naruto just shrugged and continued with his meal.

…

Sakura deposited the bag of groceries in her arms on the round kitchen table. She unwrapped the scarf around her neck. Winter was coming and the air had been getting colder and colder. She would soon need to bring her winter coat and boots out.

She began to sort the grocery items she bought, putting dry goods in the pantry and meat products in the refrigerator. She left the chicken and bread out, planning to make a simple meal of chicken soup and toast for dinner.

"Need some help?"

Sakura turned her head around and watched Kakashi walk inside the kitchen area, that dastardly orange book in his hand. She pointed at the book showing a buxom lady in a red bikini on the cover. "Depends, are your hands clean?"

The curve of a smirk appeared on Kakashi's mask. "You know I only read this for educational purposes."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Can you handle boiling me some water?"

"I'm on it!"

It would be very hard to miss the extra bounce in Kakashi's step as he took out a pot from one of the higher shelves. He filled the pot with water from the tap, whistling an unfamiliar tune.

"Where are Gramps and Nana?" she asked casually. She pulled out a knife and chopping board from the cupboard and began deboning the chicken.

"Playing bridge with the neighbors. They've been at it all afternoon so I'm guessing there's money involved," he answered with a chuckle. He put the pot over the stove and started up the fire.

"So you've been alone in the house all afternoon?" she asked, eyes glancing up at him from the chicken on the chopping board.

He looked at her oddly. "Um, yes."

Sakura slammed her knife down and gave up all pretenses of trying to cut chicken. "Give it up, Kakashi-sensei, where'd you stash the girl?"

Kakashi turned around to face her and crossed his arms over his chest. "What girl?"

"The girl you were with. It's the only reason you're walking around like a cat who got his cream," Sakura said.

Kakashi chuckled at his former student. "There is no girl, Sakura. And besides I'm a grown man and you are not my mother, young lady."

"I would not mother you if you would only act with the sense of a man who was at least half your age," she mouthed blearily. "I just want to make sure there won't be a repeat of the last time."

"Hey, you saw her she looked a lot older than she actually was!" Kakashi cried defensively.

"She was sixteen years old!" she blew up at him. "You're lucky things hadn't escalated beyond pecks on the cheek otherwise I'd have volunteered to castrate you myself."

"It was one time!"

Sakura just side eyed him. "Well if there isn't a girl, then why are you so happy?" Then her eyes widened as another thought occurred to her. "Oh god, you finally snapped and killed Gai-sensei!"

"You think too lowly of me, Sakura-chan."

She smiled cheekily at him. "Fine, tell me and I'll shut up."

Kakashi leaned against the kitchen counter, eyes smiling so widely he looked like he was filled with candy. "You've heard of course that the Third is planning to step down as Hokage."

Sakura nodded. "Tsunade-shishou says he wants to concentrate on his grandchildren. It's awfully sweet."

He rubbed his chin with his thumb as if to contain the giddiness from coming out of his body. "Right, well I've just been informed by the council that I'm being considered to be his successor."

Sakura's face brightened with uninhibited joy for her sensei. "That's amazing news, Kakashi-sensei! We should be celebrating!"

He waved his hands in front of him. "No, no, no celebrating just yet. I'm just being considered, as they said, it's not a sure thing," he said modestly.

"Pft, that is just formality. There is no one else more qualified for the job than you. They know very well that none of the Sannins are interested, Jiraiya is off perving on unsuspecting women for his books, Orochimaru is devoted to developing Sound to become an annex of Konha and Tsunade-shishou would never do anything that would take time away from her alcohol binges – I love her dearly but we have to admit she has bit of a drinking problem – and you are the strongest, most intelligent and despite your appalling addiction to porn, most politically savvy of all your contemporaries. They must simply choose you," she said indignantly.

"You had to mention the porn."

"It is a big part of who you are."

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, no matter what happens I'm glad to hear one of my most prized students believes that much in me."

Sakura tilted her head as she resumed chopping the chicken in cubes. "Anyone who's ever been under your tutelage would know what a true asset you are to Konoha."

"Does that include Sasuke?"

She eyed him wearily. "Oh please, not you too."

"I've heard some stories and I think you're just being a tad bit too hard on him," Kakashi said, his eyes focused on invisible patterns on the marble counter.

Sakura threw up her hands in the air. "Everyone is against me!"

Kakashi patted her head as if she was still the naïve twelve-year old genin under his team. "Sasuke's not that bad, you know. A bit thick and full of himself, but he's not a bad kid. There was a time when you would call yourself friends."

"We were hardly friends. Him and Naruto were friends but he always thought I was a nuisance," she said bitterly. "And besides, we were teenagers back then, practically children. Things are very different now. I've grown up and I have different priorities. He is nowhere near the top of the list. He isn't even in the list."

Kakashi sighed. Sakura had grown up to be just as stubborn and bullish as Sasuke was in his youth. "I just want to see you happy, Sakura."

Her shoulders relaxed as she looked up adoringly at the man she had considered her second father throughout the years. "I know that, Kakashi-sensei. But I'm not going to find that happiness with him."

The pot whistled behind them as the water finally reached its boiling point. "Just try to be more open to possibilities, Sakura," Kakashi said, giving her one last wink before turning off the stove.

…

It was always the feet first. It was as if the memory ended and began with Sayuri's pretty, pink nail polished feet dancing in the air. Her eyes would move up but before it could reach Sayuri's still and lifeless face Sakura would wake up in silent tears.

Sakura groaned when the painful crick on her neck reached her consciousness. She had fallen asleep on the couch again, her neck resting at an odd angle on the armrest. She sat up and stretched, hoping to alleviate the pain.

It had been a while since she had a dream about her sister. It wasn't always the same dream. Sometimes they would just be talking or another memory of the two of them playing with dolls as children. But no matter how different the dreams were, they seemed to only remind her of one thing. That she didn't do enough. Perhaps if she'd paid a little more attention, tried a little harder to talk to her, loved her a little more then Sayuri wouldn't be driven to suicide.

That's what Sakura didn't understand at first. Up until a week before her death, Sayuri had seemed so happy, young and full of life. But that week she seemed skittish, depressed and moody. She would spend hours locked up in her room and whenever the post man came she would rush down the stairs excitedly only to become utterly despondent when she was went through envelopes of bills. The night before her suicide, Sakura let her go out with her friends to a festival in the park, hoping it would help uplift her spirits. The next morning Sakura discovered her lifeless body.

She'd looked at every angle, trying to prove that there had been foul play involved in her sister's death but it was no use. All evidence led to the fact that Sayuri no longer wanted to live. And then she uncovered a most heartbreaking discovery. Sayuri was two months pregnant at the time of her death.

Sakura buried her findings. She did not want anyone speaking ill of her sister anymore than people already were. After her death Sakura went through all of Sayuri's belongings, trying to find the identity of the man…the scoundrel who had taken advantage of her sister's innocence. Whoever he was, he had to be at fault, she couldn't think any other reason why her sister would take her life and that of her unborn child. All she discovered was a strange ring, one she knew neither she nor her sister had bought, that had a water snake in the shape of an S engraved on it. It was her only clue and Sakura swore to herself that even if it took her all her life he would find him and her name and reputation be damned, but she would kill him.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She checked the time on the clock above the fireplace. It was almost six in the morning. She whimpered as her body begged for more sleep. She stood up and answered the caller on the door.

A tall, pimply Chuunin greeted her. He gave her a toothy smile before he said, "The Hokage wishes to see you in his office."

Sakura nodded. "I'm just going to get dressed. I'll be there in half an hour."

The shinobi gave her a playful salute before poofing out of her front porch.

Half an hour later she found herself sitting outside the Hokage's office feeling rather fresh but still rather sleepy. Soft footsteps echoed on the wooden floors and she looked up to see who else would be awake at such an unholy hour.

"What are you doing here?"

"Do you always need to question why I am present at certain places?"

Sakura sniffled. "I'm just surprised, is all."

Sasuke gave her that smirk that made women drop their knickers. "I've been summoned by the Hokage, probably for the same reason you were. I suppose it's about a mission."

She fidgeted in her seat. "Well, who else is coming?" Her eyes looked past him searching out for the shadow of a third or fourth mission companion.

"It's just the two of us, I believe," he drawled. He sat down beside her, much closer than what was deemed proper. "Do I make you nervous, Sakura?"

She glared at him. "Have you given any thoughts to removing your third nipple?"

Sasuke smirked at her. "Well played, Haruno."

Sakura couldn't help but blush at the tiny compliment. In some ways, you never really outgrow your childhood crush. You just eventually realize that there is more to life than their dashing smiles and deep-set eyes.

...

Sakura had lasted three minutes and twenty-nine seconds in the horse drawn carriage before she had yelled for the coach to stop and let her off. She marched towards Sasuke, who had stopped a few paced ahead of them.

"Something the matter?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"I cannot stand him! If you make me share a breathing space with that sorry excuse for a human being for one more minute, I promise you we will fail our mission, he will not reach the Land of Rain alive because I will murder him!" she hissed through gritted to death.

Sasuke put his hands on Sakura's shoulder and rubbed up and down her arms in an attempt to calm her down. "Breathe in, breathe out, that's it you're looking less purple now," he said encouragingly. When her breathing had considerably slowed he said, "Change of plans, I stay with him in the carriage and you stay on watch out here."

"Perfect," she agreed quickly.

Once he was sure steam was no longer coming out of her ears he headed towards the enclosed cart. To be honest this hardly qualified as an A-rank mission. The only reason they had been sent was because the man had paid a large sum of money to ensure his protection. Although Sasuke highly doubted that he was in any sort of danger, no respectable gang lord would pay enough attention to put a hit on a lowly scum like this guy.

Sasuke settled on the cushioned seat opposite their delivery. Tetsuo was a sleazy and greasy looking man, all wrapped up in heavy gold jewelry. He owned a chain of gentleman's clubs all around the world and he deemed himself important enough to request the protection of two of Konoha's best ninjas.

"That little spitfire's got a bite on her," he announced with glee as he stared out of the window, focusing on Sakura's form.

"Hn."

"But a little uptight, isn't she? Just asked her if she preferred thongs or g-strings so I could give her a little present when we get to Rain," he said with a boisterous laugh.

Sasuke swore a vein popped on his forehead. "Hn."

"Too bad that chick's around, bet you and I could a lot of fun without her," he went on with a wink.

"She is not a 'chick'," Sasuke finally answered with obvious distaste. "She's an accomplished kunoichi of Konoha and it would do you well to address her with respect."

It had to be said, Tetsuo was a little dumb. "What's she got? Beer flavored nipples?"

_Five minutes later…_

"Is he dead?"

Sasuke eyed Sakura incredulously. "Of course, he's not dead."

"He looks dead," she said as she adjusted her bum on the carriage's cushioned seats. Tetsuo's prone body was on lying down sideways on the opposite couch.

"Well, you're the doctor, why don't you check his pulse," Sasuke answered, hands motioning towards their mission.

"I don't want to touch him," she said as if it were the most insane idea in the world.

"I guess you'd just have to take my word for it that I didn't kill him. He was annoying me so I rendered him unconscious," he drawled.

"How long is he going to stay like that?" she asked curiously.

"One to two days," he estimated.

Sakura gave him a glorious smile. "This mission just got a lot easier."

_Two days later…_

"This mission sucks!"

"That's a nice way to put things!" Sasuke yelled over the heavy pelts of rain and thunder around them.

An hour into their trip back to Konoha, the weather had turned dreary and in a matter of minutes they were caught in the middle of a full blown typhoon.

Sakura leaped from one tree branch to the other. The cold was seeping into her brain and affecting her senses and she almost slipped as she made another leap. Thankfully Sasuke was able to catch her by the waist. He secured her to his side with one arm as the other held on tightly to a tree trunk.

"We need to find shelter!" Even an inch away she had to scream just so she could be heard over the roaring winds.

Sasuke nodded. He could probably make it an hour or so more but knew that Sakura's smaller body mass would make her more prone to hypothermia. "I saw a cottage a mile back."

He resorted to hand signals, pointing her to the direction of the cottage. She gave him a signal that meant she understood. Soon the two were tracing their steps back towards the cottage.

In less than two minutes Sasuke was on the front porch of what looked like a cozy winter cottage. Sakura appeared beside him two seconds later, looking worse for wear. Her skin had turned a sickly blue and her teeth knocking together within ghostly lips.

"I don't think anyone's at home," he said after inspecting the surroundings. He expertly picked the door locks and with a click the latch opened.

He urged Sakura to go inside first. He spotted a staircase to the side and quickly concluded that it must lead up to the bedrooms.

"Go upstairs and find some dry clothes to change into. I'll start a fire," he said to her.

The water seemed to have drowned out all her snarky comebacks because she just followed his orders.

It was easy enough to find things around the house. He collected dry firewood and matches, which were in the kitchen. He went back to the tiny living space where he spotted a hearth. In a matter of minutes a bonfire had started. He relished the feeling of heat in his hands. He removed his wet shirt and sat on the thick rug by the fireplace, wanting to stay near the heat.

Sakura's clunky footsteps alerted him of her presence. She was wearing a snug terry cotton bathrobe and carrying two dry towels. She handed them to Sasuke.

"Thank you," he said as he wiped the water out of his hair and face.

"It doesn't seem like the storm's going to let for the rest of the night," she said as she sat down beside him near the fire.

"There's food in the pantry, we'll be fine until morning," he assured her.

"Right."

She seemed rather nervous and he'd noticed how she had been purposefully avoiding looking in his direction. He watched the play of firelight on her face, casting a healthy glow on her porcelain skin.

Then it occurred to him. They were alone in the middle of nowhere, stranded by the storm and getting cozy by the hearthside fire. If he didn't know any better he would've thought he planned this all himself. He smirked, someone up there must still like him.

"Your hair's still wet," he said out of the blue.

Her head snapped up to look at him. "What?"

He wordlessly moved to kneel behind her and ran a dry towel through her pink locks. His fingers massaged her scalp through the cloth. "You won't get warm if your hair's still wet," he said in a low whisper.

She let out a small whimper when his hand dropped the towel and bare fingers touched the sensitive skin of her nape. "What are you doing?" Sakura asked as she felt his warm breath near her cheek.

His fingers trailed down her jaw as he coaxed her to face him. "Keeping us warm."

And before she could ask him what he meant his lips had already descended upon hers.

_To be continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End Notes: Mark Wahlberg has a third nipple, proof that if you're hot, you're hot. Hee.
> 
> Next Chapter: Something always has to go wrong with Sasuke. Unlucky bastard.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Plot elements borrow heavily from Amanda Quick's "Seduction". No betas, all mistakes are mine.

Two minutes had passed and her eyes were still wide, unblinking and open. Sakura kept telling herself that she ought to close them if only for the fact that no one really looked good this up close, even with the perfectly chiseled features of Sasuke. But her eyes would not budge. His lips felt relentless against hers but they remained gentle and unobtrusive.

She felt his hot breath over her lips when he gave her a tiny reprieve. His mouth curved into a small smile that, as with everything he did and said, had a hint of cockiness to it. But there was a smidgeon of amusement in his half-lidded eyes that made it just the slightest bit endearing. "Relax, Sakura," he whispered to her as his palm lightly touched her forehead before running down over her eyes causing them to flutter shut. "You have the softest lips," he mumbled lowly as if he hadn't meant for the words to come out. His kiss was light and teasing, every press and push enticing her to move against him. He placed his thumb on the dip of her chin and pulled it downwards, causing her mouth to open for him. His tongue invaded her mouth, the rough wet muscle wreaking havoc on her senses. She kept thinking that she ought to do something along the lines of hitting him with a blunt object but the sensations coursing through her body just felt too good. She heard a wanton moan filter through her ears and she was horrified to realize that it was indeed her voice (although she did sound sexy if she may say so herself).

Sasuke chuckled lightly, the vibrations of his chest making her groan. "Did you like that?" Sakura couldn't help but think the question was rhetorical. "Once we get married I'll make you feel pleasure like this and more every night."

Sakura stiffened. "Excuse me?"

He trailed open mouthed kisses from the corner of her lips, to her plump cheeks until he reached her ear. "Marry me and we'll get to enjoy each other as husband and wife every night."

She leaned back on her elbows to create space between them. Wide green eyes stared up at him as if he had come from outer space. "Do I look like a man to you?"

He let out an amused snort as his hand ran down the front of her robe and gave a light squeeze once it landed on one perky tit. "Of course not."

Sakura slapped his hand away. "Then why in the world would you think that I'd be persuaded to marry you just because I want to have sex with you?" she exclaimed.

"So you do want to have sex with me?"

She groaned with frustration and clumsily got up on her feet. She traced a large rectangle in the air with her hands. "Bigger picture, Uchiha, look at it!"

"I think I preferred it when you called me Lord Uchiha," he muttered under his breath.

But Sakura wasn't listening at all. She was now pacing on the rug carpet with her hands flailing in the air. "First you think I'm a gold digger and now you treat me like I'm some sort of nymphomaniac trollop or worse a man who would marry someone for something as simple and asinine as the promise of carnal pleasure!"

"If you squint your eyes hard enough, that sounds rather sexist."

It would've been funny if she weren't already completely incensed. "I never thought I'd tell you this, but you Sasuke Uchiha are a complete idiot!" she said, rounding on him. "Now I'm going to go upstairs and sleep and if you dare follow me I will cut off your testicles with a rusty knife."

He didn't dare test if she would make good on her threat.

The trip back to Konoha in the morning was swift and painful. The tension between the two ninjas was thick and suffocating.

The kiss in itself wasn't terrible. It had actually been rather pleasant. There was something sweet and gentle in the way he moved his lips against hers and the smell of rain on his skin transported her into this other world where she could imagine that they were just two lovers sharing their first kiss together in front of a warm bonfire as the storm raged on outside. But then he opened his mouth and reality came crashing down on her head like a glass ceiling. It was no longer sweet nor gentle nor pleasant, it was just another one of his ways to try and manipulate her into succumbing to his wills. It reminded Sakura once more that Sasuke never did anything that wasn't completely for himself.

Throughout the night, Sasuke's mood went from frustration to irritation and then back to frustration once more. He had been rebuffed by a woman a total of four times in his life, all those times courtesy of the woman who was now flying from tree to tree ahead of him. The irony of it all was that he had never exerted this much effort to gain a woman's affections. Last night brought much confusion in his head. He had been fully prepared to seduce her body to give in to him with no thoughts of his own agenda. That moment he first felt her soft lips, he wanted nothing more than to push her to lie on the rug as he took what he had subconsciously always thought was his. And yet he couldn't, because Sakura was sacred. Memories of their days as teammates watered down his lustful wanting, reminding him that this wasn't just some random girl, this was Sakura whom he used to look out for during dangerous missions and who would cry her pretty eyes out whenever she thought he had been hurt. He'd never really been good with relationships, romantic or otherwise, with women. He wasn't a social being to begin with. But he'd had a bond with her and even if it had not been as deep as the one he had with Naruto or even with Kakashi, she was precious to him. He wouldn't just take her like some random chit on a rug that wasn't even his. She should have the honor of his name and the promise of a future. And then all hell broke loose. How was he supposed to convince her to become his wife if she would resist him at every turn?

They reached the gates of Konoha in record time. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as her feet stepped on the land she called her home only to be greeted by the grim face of Hatake Kakashi. The ominous air around him was palpable and Sakura couldn't help but clutch her heart as it began hammering against her chest.

"What happened?" she asked instantly, skipping all pleasantries.

"Your grandfather," he started, taking a second to swallow the heaviness in his throat, "he's had a stroke."

Sakura hadn't left her grandfather's side since she had come back from her mission. She tried to get as comfortable as she could in the wingback chair Kakashi had brought in for her since there was no place to lie down in the undersized hospital room. It was the only one she could afford.

Her grandmother had left for home an hour or two earlier, much due to Sakura's badgering. She understood that her Nana would want to be close to her husband but a hospital was no place for someone her age. Sakura promised her that she would keep watch and make sure to get her if anything happened. Kakashi had been summoned by the Hokage and was yet to return. She didn't mind though, watching over her grandfather was the least she could do at this point.

He had suffered a stroke and was brought under an induced coma to ease his suffering. He should awake in the morning, was what the doctors had said. She didn't have it in her to question their methods or conduct a testing herself. Not that it would do any good, her expertise lied in the treatment of ninjas, illnesses that fell upon common folk was not up her alley.

Her grandfather would survive but that was not the end of it. The aftermath of a stroke was a long and hard battle. The left side of his body had been paralyzed and he would need therapy and continuous medical attention. Even now she was thinking up ways of how she could support him financially. With every second he was confined in the hospital, the bills were racking up. Her savings would dry up in a matter of days and her medical insurance would not cover everything else.

Sakura heard the door creak and she looked around, wondering who would come visiting at this hour. She was greeted with the sight of a freshly dressed Sasuke carrying a brown paper bag and nothing else.

"I brought you dinner," he said simply, hand extending to her the bag in his hand.

She eyed him warily as she accepted the bag. She had forgotten about him once she heard the news from Kakashi earlier and pondered for a moment what he had been doing all day. "Thank you," she said shyly. She hadn't had any food all day and the smell of meat and rice caused her stomach to growl in hunger.

Sasuke grabbed a stool from the corner of the room and settled it beside the wingback chair she was cocooned in. He watched as she tore the bag open and daintily ate the dinner he brought to her. He waited until she was finished before he said anything. "What happened?"

She looked up at him and sighed. "Stroke. He was out peddling sweet potatoes to some of the academy kids during their lunch period. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year in Konoha. It was too hot for him; he didn't even have his hat on. One minute he was giving a kid his change and the next he was on the ground."

"What was he doing peddling outside at his age?"

"I'm sorry, not all of us are born with a silver spoon in our mouths like you," she said cattily.

"It was just a question," he returned, looking thoroughly affronted.

Sakura could feel the guilt creep up her spine. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for," she said sincerely. While they hadn't been seeing eye to eye lately, it was no excuse to be rude to someone who seemed genuinely concerned about her grandfather. "I don't want him to work, but even with everything that I do I can't afford to make him stop. Even with all the overtime and the extra missions, it doesn't seem to be enough, I can't give them the comfortable life that they deserve."

Perhaps it was the combination of stress, exhaustion, hunger and a lack of sleep that Sakura didn't mind at all that she had started crying in front of him, the last person she wanted to let see her vulnerability.

It was the most natural thing in the world for him to comfort her, strangely enough. He had never been the affectionate type but there was something about Sakura that made him want to coddle her. Though it didn't surprise him at all; he had never voiced it out but even when they were genin it just came instinctually to him to try protect her and make her feel safe.

He raised his arms around her head and ran his fingers through her pink locks, encouraging her to bury her head in his chest as she let all her frustrations out. She sobbed quietly mostly because she was just so tired that she didn't have energy for more. Her arms lay limply against her sides as her shoulders shook tiredly.

"Rest, Sakura," he whispered, "I'll keep watch."

Sasuke didn't know if she even heard him but in a matter of moments she had fallen asleep in his arms.

When Sakura had woken up the sun had broken over the horizon and Sasuke was gone. The only sign that he had been there at all was the black wool cloak that had an Uchiha fan embroidered on it blanketing her. The stool beside her was now occupied by Kakashi, sans the orange book in his hand.

"Good morning, sleepy head," he said with a small grin.

She gave him a wan smile before a yawn overtook her face. "When did you get back?" she asked.

"Just this morning. Sasuke says he'll be back later on and he'll bring a change of clothes for you," he said with a suggestive wink.

Sakura wasn't sure how she felt about Sasuke bringing her underwear. "Has he woken up?" she asked as she stood up. She carefully hung Sasuke's cloak on the back of the chair before walking over to her grandfather's bedside.

Kakashi followed her and stopped next to her, looking over the old man with concern in his grey eyes. "Just a little bit earlier, didn't seem too lucid. He was asking for your grandmother before he passed out again. The doctors say it's just the medication making him sleepy."

Sakura watched the monitors that were attached to her grandfather. "His vitals seem stable though, so that's good," she said, sounding more hopeful than she had been yesterday.

Kakashi patted her back. "He'll pull through, Sakura. He's a fighter just like you."

Sakura nodded and leaned her head against Kakashi's arm. "I don't know what I'd ever do without you," she said to him. He seemed to stiffen at the contact but relaxed a mere moment later. "What did the Hokage want anyhow?" she asked when she remembered the reason he was absent last night.

Kakashi laughed nervously and shrugged. "Nothing you should concern yourself with."

Sakura frowned at his answer. Kakashi had always been upfront when it came to his dealings with the Hokage, especially to her. It was never like him to deflect such questions. "What's the matter?"

His eyebrows furrowed, seemingly irritated at her persistence. "Nothing, Sakura. We should focus on making sure your grandfather gets better."

"I will find out eventually so you might as well tell me now," she said, sounding even more petulant to her own ear but she had a gut feeling that whatever was bother Kakashi had a lot more to do with her than he let on.

He sighed resignedly. "It's not your fault, Sakura, just remember that."

Sakura's face fell, so it did have something to do with her. He had done so much for her and it pained her to know that there was something about her that could ever cause him problems. "Tell me, Kakashi-sensei."

He gulped as he faced her, hand gripping the handle of the hospital bed tightly. "The third said that it didn't look like it would happen. The council said that due to my…reputation that morally I wasn't the best choice to succeed him."

"Reputation? What are they talking about?" she asked, sounding almost hysterical. Minus the public reading of glamorized porn, which was more of an accepted quirk and wasn't much of a big deal, Kakashi had proven to be a most trustworthy and dependable ninja whom everyone in the village respected and admired.

He just shrugged as if it wasn't that huge of a deal. "They're a bunch of old, malicious coots. I suppose my obsession with Icha Icha Paradise is coming back to bite me in the ass, they all think I'm some sort of pervert."

That's when it dawned on Sakura, the moral issue they had with Kakashi had nothing to do with the books. "It's me, isn't it? They think because I'm living with you that you're having some sort of affair with your former student." His silence was enough of an answer. "Those bastards! You've done nothing but be kind and generous to me all these years. Why didn't you tell that to the Hokage?"

Kakashi shook his head resignedly. "Even if the council and the Hokage know that our relationship is very innocent and I look at you as if you were my own daughter, to the rest of Konoha you're a young, beautiful and single girl and I'm an old perverted bachelor. Who would believe that I would've left you untouched all these years?"

She bit her bottom lip as her tears threatened to fall once more. "I've done nothing but be a burden to you. I've already encroached your entire life, you probably can't find a good woman to settle down with because of me and now I'm taking away your chance to be Hokage."

Kakashi patted her head before enclosing her in a warm embrace. "I've told you, it's not your fault. Trust me, if I wanted a woman in my life your presence will not stop me, but I don't want one. And as for being Hokage, it's never even crossed my mind until the offer came up so it's no big deal if I don't get it."

Sakura looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. "But you wanted it? That short time that you thought it was a possibility, you did want it," she said knowingly.

The corner of his lips quirked beneath his mask as he nodded.

Before Sakura could say anymore the door opened. Her grandmother walked in with her wooden cane and behind her was Sasuke who was still wearing his clothes from last night, carrying what appeared to be Sakura's overnight bag and her grandmother's woven hand basket.

"Nana," she greeted with a smile, wiping the tears from her eyes hastily. Sakura moved towards the older woman swiftly and helped her walk up to her husband's bedside.

"Good morning, Papa," she said affectionately as she lifted her husband's hand and brought it to her lips. "Wake up soon, your wife misses you," she said with a hopeful tone before turning towards her granddaughter. "Dear, I've packed you a some things so you could clean up. Your beau is very thoughtful. He helped me make you breakfast and walked me all the way here," she twittered excitedly, the twinkle in her eyes made her seem younger than she was. Nana Haruno turned to look at Sasuke, who was still standing by the door, looking very much out of place with her little family, and gave him and approving nod. "Oh, Sakura-chan I knew you would eventually manage to land such a good man."

Sakura forgave her since she was old and had archaic ideas about men and women. "Nana, he's not—" she began to correct but her grandmother was no longer paying any attention to her, busying herself instead with telling her unconscious husband about her day. "Fine, don't talk to me," she muttered under her breath.

Sakura excused herself and asked Kakashi to stay with her grandparents. "Lord Uchiha, can I talk to you outside?" she asked politely.

Sasuke nodded. He placed her bag and the basket (that Sakura assumed contained breakfast) on the table at the end of the hospital bed before opening the door and motioning for her to go ahead of him. And here she thought that chivalry was dead.

"I don't want you to think that I'm an ungrateful bitch, because I really am thankful for last night and this morning," Sakura said as soon as the door closed. "But I won't change my mind."

Sasuke had a feeling that she was going to say something like that and shushed her before she went any further. "If I'm helping you, it's because I want to. Please don't shut me out."

"But-"

"I promise not to raise the issue of marriage until your grandfather has recovered. For now, I'm just…a friend, lending you a helping hand," he said.

Sakura studied his form as if searching for any proof of untruthfulness in his words. She still seemed wary of him, her arms crossing over her chest as if it would create more space between them, but she nodded her assent.

"You should probably go take a shower now, you smell like hospital cleaners," he said, scrunching his nose up.

He found her laughter to be musical.

When Sasuke wasn't off on missions or doing whatever business it is that rich people do, he was usually at the hospital keeping Nana Haruno company or engaging Grandpa Haruno, who had fully woken up, in a game of chess. Sometimes Naruto would be with him and they would entertain her grandparents with their childish banter. Kakashi would join them, putting a perverted twist in everything that they say or do and Sakura felt like she was twelve again and having the time of her life with Team 7. At these times she would clamp down thoughts of how adorable Sasuke looked with that infuriating smirk of his.

As much as she was wont to admit it, Sakura had become used to his presence. If she was hungry she would expect him to show up with food, sometimes it was just take out ramen and other times it would be an extravagant meal prepared by his personal chef. If she were tired she would wait for his voice telling her to get some sleep, as if she was just waiting for his go signal. And when she was particularly well-rested or particularly tired or particularly nervous, she would slip up and call him Sasuke-kun.

Her grandmother, in particular, had taken quite a liking to the youngest Uchiha. She still thought he was Sakura's 'beau' and the medic-nin had given up correcting her after the first week. Sakura was quite certain the older woman was making the mistake on purpose. It shouldn't have surprised her how well Sasuke got along with her grandmother; she knew that Sasuke had an amazing relationship with his own mother. He was just very sweet on older people, as if age automatically gave them a free pass from the infamous Sasuke Uchiha temper. Of course, he was still a bastard to everyone else, especially when he thought an orderly or a doctor wasn't doing a proper job of taking care of Sakura's grandfather. Thankfully the female nurses didn't mind his surly attitude, primarily because they wouldn't give up trying to flirt with him. Not that they succeeded any. Sakura wondered if all them were dropped on their heads as children.

Sakura was coming back from her afternoon shift on the ninja wing of Konoha General Hospital. The hospital board had been considerate enough to allow her to take shorter shifts during the day, for the meantime at least. She was about to enter Grandpa Haruno's room when she noticed Sasuke at the nurse's station talking to her grandfather's physician. She immediately changed courses and walked up to two men, she doubted they were just having idle chit-chat since Sasuke had readily expressed that he disliked the doctor gravely.

"Is there a problem here?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke regarded her with a smile. "Dr. Fujiwara here says that Grandpa can continue recovering and getting therapy at home. I think it'd be a good thing, especially for Nana, she misses him desperately." Sakura tried to ignore the fact that Sasuke just referred to her grandparents so familiarly.

Dr. Fujiwara nodded sagely. "Yes, yes, of course he would still need twenty-four hour medical care. You should have all the proper equipment and an in-home nurse as I'm sure Dr. Haruno would not be available the entire time."

Sasuke waved it off as if it was nothing. "That can be all taken cared of, no worries."

"Sasuke-kun, can I talk to you for a second?" she interjected suddenly and without preamble pulled him off to the side, away from Dr. Fujiwara's ears.

"I can't afford all that," she said quickly.

Sasuke placed his hands on her shoulders and met her green eyes with his obsidian ones. "Don't worry about the costs. I've already arranged for it. I really think your grandfather will do much better if he were at home and your grandmother would sleep better with her husband nearby."

She looked up at him, her jaw jutting out with determination. "I'll pay you back, every cent. It might take me a while but I will."

Sasuke let out a heavy breath and looked to the side as if second guessing himself before he finally took her hand in his and pulled her inside a cleaning room. They were enveloped in darkness before Sasuke pulled down the switch for yellow light bulb overhead. The ceiling was low and they were surrounded with buckets and brooms, she wondered for a second if he was planning on molesting her before mentally kicking herself for thinking of that at a time like this.

"I don't want you to think that I'm blackmailing or bribing you," he began nervously. He grabbed both her hands and brought it against his lips, kissing her knuckles reverently. "I still want to marry you, Sakura, and when we get married your family becomes my family. I'm not going to stop helping you if you still want to decline my proposal. But Sakura what I want you to see," he looked down at his feet before steeling his resolve, "What I want you to see is that I can be a dependable husband. I know I am sorely lacking in many things as far as being a husband is concerned. I can be crass, self-absorbed, insensitive and unromantic."

"And self-aware it seems," she joshed lightly.

"And self-aware," he acknowledged her with a smirk, "But I will be loyal to you, provide for you and take care of your family as if they were my own."

Sakura stared at him with her mouth gaping open (which she was sure didn't look attractive at all). "I don't know what to say right now."

He nodded. "There's also the matter of Kakashi…I know about the bump he'd encountered on the way to being Hokage."

"How?" She had thought that was a confidential matter.

He grinned almost smugly at her. "The Uchiha family is very well connected, you must know."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Of course."

"If we get married it would erase all suspicions they have regarding yours and Kakashi's relationship, not that I believe any of that bollocks. Because after all, an Uchiha heir would not marry a woman who is not," he pursed his mouth as if there was a bitter taste in his mouth before continuing, "pure of standing."

"And if I weren't pure?"

"It wouldn't matter to me," he said without hesitation.

Sakura smiled at him. "For once you said the right thing."

He looked thoroughly pleased with himself for a moment before his lips thinned to a grim line once more. He let go of one hand and delved inside his jacket pocket in search of something. His hand finally emerged, fisted over a small velvet box. He held her right hand with her palm open and pressed the box over it. He enclosed his finger over hers, the box wrapped in their hands and stepped closer to her, laying a gentle kiss on her temple.

"You don't have give me an answer now. Just think about it and really consider it and whatever you decide just come to me. I promise you that this will be the last time I will ask for your hand in marriage," he said solemnly.

Sakura nodded, the ends of her fringe tickling his jaw. "Give me three days and I will have an answer for you," she promised.

He leaned down and kissed the very corner of her mouth, lingering long enough for her to smell the scent of aftershave and his warm peppermint breath. "I do hope you say yes, Sakura," he whispered against her lips.

He exited the room, leaving her behind to stew over her thoughts. Sakura wanted nothing more than to drop to her knees and vomit all over the sterile marble floors. As much as she wanted to deny it, she was falling for Sasuke Uchiha all over again.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Negotiations and a horny (but deprived) Sasuke. Haha.
> 
> End notes: I've always thought Sasuke in the manga/anime (pre-time skip of course) always had this instinctual sense of protectiveness when it came to Sakura so that teensy mention of that in this chapter was a throwback to canon. Hee.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Plot elements borrow heavily from Amanda Quick's "Seduction".

Chapter Five

Seduction

"How much do you think we'll get for it if we pawn it?"

Sakura eyed her Tsunade-shishou with a mixture of fascination and disbelief. It never ceases to amaze her how unscrupulous her mentor could get. Before she had met Tsunade, Sakura had only learned of her accomplishments in medical ninjutsu and advanced chakra control and of course her honorary status as a Sannin. She never expected her to be a beer chugging, expletive spewing, cigar smoking and borderline sociopathic gambling addict. Although to be honest it kind of made her all the more brilliant.

"We're not going to pawn Sasuke-kun's engagement ring," she said with finality.

"Technically it's your engagement ring, Sakura-chan."

"What is that blond ditz doing in my backyard?"

Sakura wondered if Ino realized how ridiculous she looked standing in the middle of Tsunade's famed herb garden in four inch heels and a glass of wine in her hand. She brought her own wine and her own glass since she pronounced herself much too delicate for Tsunade's habit of drinking rum out of the bottle (also, she wasn't a pirate).

"You realize you're blond too, shishou?" Sakura asked with faux innocence.

"I am her best friend, Tsunade-sama thus I am always involved in any decision making regarding men," Ino said with a saccharine smile.

"Blink twice if she's holding you hostage," Tsunade said to Sakura.

It was no secret that Tsunade wasn't too fond of Ino Nara nee Yamanaka. Tsunade personally thought that Ino was a talented kunoichi who had squandered all her potential in order to climb up the ninja social ranks and served no purpose other than as Shikamaru Nara's trophy wife. She'd often warned her protégé Sakura to stay away from her, afraid that the blond missus would rub off on the young medic-nin. It was of no use of course since Sakura never listened. Blasted child.

"Shishou, Ino is a very good friend of mine and even if she had chosen to lead her life down a different path I still very much value her friendship and wisdom. Besides she's the only one who's in an actual relationship out of the three of us," Sakura said.

Tsunade blew a puff of smoke out of her mouth, making Sakura suffer a coughing fit. "Fine, fine! Although I don't really know why you needed to talk to us about this since I'm quite certain you've already made up your mind."

Sakura smiled sheepishly, her mentor knew her very well.

Ino walked up to her, carrying a low stool from the shed. Perhaps her feet had hurt enough, forcing her to suffer the indignity of sitting on a low stool. Why doesn't Tsunade have a sitting room like normal people? "Perhaps she's just looking for a bit of support," she chimed in, "Ne, Sakura-chan?"

So much for being mysterious. Sakura tilted her head to the side and gazed at the ring once more. She had yet to take it out of its cushion, preferring to just stare at it while it sat prettily inside the velvet box. It was really quite magnificent with its oval sapphire rock surrounded by diamonds on top of a diamond encrusted platinum band. She carried it everywhere with her, afraid that if she let it out of her sights for even a millisecond it would be lost. And then she'd really have no choice but to marry Sasuke because she wouldn't be able to afford paying for the ring.

"What do you really think so, though?"

Ino deferred to the oldest woman in the group with a quirk of her lips. While she was aware of Tsunade's distaste for her she still respected the woman.

"I think Uchiha is a spoiled bastard," Tsunade said without hesitation. "But I do believe he holds an affection for you that he didn't understand back then and you refuse to acknowledge now. And no matter what, he is a man of his word, whatever promises he has made you, he will die before breaking them."

"Also he's rich and very handsome and if the closet cases at the local bathhouse are to be believed, very well endowed," Ino added helpfully.

Sakura eyed her incredulously. "How is that even relevant?" she squeaked.

Ino petted her pink head as if she were a fluffy cat. "My dear, virgin kumquat, size is always relevant," she drawled before taking a dainty sip of her wine.

Tsunade smirked. "What do you know, you do make sense from time to time!"

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama, I appreciate your kind words," Ino returned primly.

"You are both insane," Sakura deadpanned. "Regardless, I don't want that to be what my marriage is about, sizes and a handsome husband." She sighed, feeling immature and insecure with all her emotions but it couldn't be helped. "I want a friendship, a real relationship," she picked at a loose thread on her skirt, "I want him to love me." Just like I'm beginning to love him, her mind added.

Tsunade scoffed and Ino threw the older woman disgruntled look and told her to shush. She scooted her stool closer to Sakura's and tucked a stray pink hair behind her ear. Sakura was still awed sometimes at how maternal Ino could be. "You know marriage isn't a fairy tale, it's a lot of work and no matter how much you work at it, it's never going to be perfect. But if you and Sasuke put your everything in it, I'm sure it would get to a point where you both can be content. As for love, well if there's anything I've learned through years of being married to my husband who knows only two words – trouble and some – love means different things for different people. You can't expect anyone to love the same way you do. All of us love in different ways and different depths, but it doesn't make one love better than the other. If you go into this marriage, go into it with an open mind and an open heart. And just because you're my best friend and I love you I will tell you that you are gorgeous and intelligent and fun when you've had some alcohol in you, he'd have to be a complete idiot if he isn't head over heels for you by now."

Tsunade reached over and squeezed Sakura's left arm. "Listen to your friend, she makes a lot of sense."

Ino turned to her, eyes wide. "That is the second nice thing you've said to me today."

Tsunade shrugged. "I've had my second bottle of rum."

Ino quickly reached over the crate beside her and pulled out a sealed bottle. "Here, have your third."

It was a lovely day for a picnic. The heat of the sun and the full clouds balanced each other out, giving off warmth that wasn't stifling. Sakura sat on her calves in a yellow sundress. She always dressed up nicely for her parents, wanting them to see that she'd grown up well. She nibbled on a chocolate chip muffin she picked up from the coffee shop two blocks from the hospital. It was Sayuri's favorite and it had been the sisters' tradition to eat muffins when they visited their parents whilst she was still alive.

"I think I'm going to get married," she said, focusing on the tombstone that had her father's name carved on it. "To Sasuke Uchiha," she clarified, "he was the boy I wouldn't shut up about when I was little. He's not a boy anymore."

A cool breeze kissed her cheek and she closed her eyes to savor the serenity it brought her.

"I know, I wasn't expecting it either," she said with a laugh. She used to feel a bit silly talking to graves but as time went on it was the one thing that helped her hold on to her sanity when something overwhelmed her. "I think you'd like him, Mama. Nana is in love with him and you two have always had the same taste."

She took another bite of her muffin and smirked towards Sayuri's tombstone, as if taunting her sister for not being able to taste the sweet treat. "Don't worry, Sayuri-chan. I'll never forget my promise to you."

Just then she felt a presence behind her. Sakura looked back just in time to watch Naruto Uzumaki take a seat beside her on the dewy grass.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan," he greeted her with his toothy smile and bright blue eyes.

"Good morning, Naruto, you're up early," she returned with a smile of her own.

"Yeah, I was over at my Mom's grave and saw you here, thought I'd say hi," he said sheepishly. Naruto's mother had died during childbirth. "So I heard you were finally getting married to teme."

Sakura snorted. The rumor mill in Konoha definitely worked overtime. "Technically, I'm still considering it," she said.

Naruto put an arm around her shoulder. "Well I hope you say yes."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at him. "Why is that?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head as a blush crept up his whiskered cheeks. "It seems silly really, but I think that maybe if you and Sasuke get married, we can be friends again."

"We're still friends," she objected.

Naruto shook his head. "Not like before. It's like when you stopped being in love with him you stopped being friends with me. You never go out with us and you don't tell me about anything. Heck, if it weren't for Kakashi I wouldn't have learned about what happened to your sister."

Sakura sighed guiltily. "I'm so sorry, Naruto. I didn't know I made you feel that way. I guess I just always thought of you as more of Sasuke's friend," then she smirked naughtily, "I didn't want to get in the way of your budding romance."

He playfully punched her arm. "Silly girl." He picked at the grass beneath him. "I'm going to admit there are things between me and Sasuke that you wouldn't really understand, mostly guy stuff," he watched her lips curl into an impish smile, "straight guy stuff, shut up."

She held her hands up. "I didn't say anything."

Naruto rolled his eyes before getting serious once more. "But I always thought of you as my best friend too."

Sakura smiled tenderly at him. She loved how easy friendship was when it came to Naruto. "I'll let you in on a little secret then," she said conspiratorially and made a come hither signal with her finger. He drew closer to her as she whispered, "I think I'm going to say yes."

Naruto clapped her back and drew her into a tight hug. "You going to tell him today?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "I told him I'd give him my answer in three days and I plan to wait until the last minute, make him sweat a bit. It'll be payback for all those times he made me chase after him when I was little."

Naruto threw his head back and laughed boisterously. "I like the way you think, Sakura-chan."

Sakura grinned and punched his arm. "Would you like a muffin?" she offered the treat in her hand.

"Naw, I'm trying to watch my carbs."

The two friends stayed until the sun was high up in the sky, reliving the days when just laughing with no care in the world was a norm and not a luxury.

"Gramps, don't cheat."

Grandpa Haruno glared at Sasuke's back. The Uchiha heir was currently facing the lone bookshelf on one corner of the room and alphabetizing its contents, since it apparently bothered him. "I am not cheating," he said throatily.

Sasuke smirked as he turned around to look at the old man. "I'm a shinobi, I have eyes at the back of my head. You're supposed to transfer the sunflower seeds individually to the bowl. That's what your therapist said."

They had made the move back to Kakashi's house last night. Sasuke personally oversaw that Grandpa Haruno's room was installed with all the necessary equipment for his medical care. Sakura had already arranged for three rotating nurses that would come to the house everyday while they were still looking for a stay-in caretaker.

The Haruno patriarch harrumphed and crossed his arms over his chest. "That man's a hack."

"Your granddaughter holds great respect for Dr. Kazuto, she would only let the best come near you," Sasuke said convincingly.

"Bah, bah, I'm tired, leave me alone I'm old."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "How about I call Nana in here and tell her you don't want to do your exercises."

Grandpa Haruno glared at Sasuke once more but loosened his stance. "Fine, I'll do it," he said begrudgingly as he picked up a single sunflower seed and dropped it inside the ceramic bowl.

He smirked and made a mental note that threatening to sic Nana on him always worked.

"Is he giving you any trouble?"

Sakura was leaning against the open door with a bemused smile on her face. It was still strange to see Sasuke acting so familiarly towards her grandparents but it was a good kind of strange.

"I've got a good handle on him, don't worry," Sasuke readily answered.

"Try to handle this," Grandpa said throatily as he threw a sunflower seed at Sasuke's head.

"Do you want me to holler at Nana?" he threatened.

The older man physically cowered. Sasuke could hear Sakura chortle behind him. He really liked the sound of her laughter.

"I thought so."

Sakura giggled at the sight of them. "I'll take over for now. You can go home, I'm sure you have other business to attend to."

Sasuke nodded and picked up his cloak that was draped over the end of the bed. He walked up to Sakura and talked lowly, not wanting her grandfather to overhear what he was about to say. "Actually I do need to get going, I just wanted to drop by and tell you that I'll be going to Sound. Father has his sights set on an estate up for sale and wants me to see if it'll be a profitable investment." He paused and held her hand in his. "I'll be back day after tomorrow and I'll come straight here so we could…talk."

Sakura knew exactly what he meant. It would be the day she had promised him an answer. There was a slight shake in his hand that made her lips quirk up. "You don't need to come here. I'll go to your house."

He bit his lip and squinted his eyes as if trying to determine what her decision to come to him instead meant. She didn't give anything away though. "Very well then, I'll be going." He raised her hand and placed a kiss on her open palm. He turned once more towards her grandfather and said, "I'll see you soon, Gramps. Do you exercises or I'll tell Nana on you."

Grandpa threw another sunflower seed in his direction.

After he had been gone for a while, Grandpa addressed his granddaughter. "Your friend is very bossy."

Sakura laughed. "Well you better get used to him, unless an apocalypse happens he'll be your grandson-in-law soon."

Two days later found Sakura and Sasuke sitting opposite each other on Sasuke's Victorian desk. The sun had begun its descent and dawn light gave Sakura's skin an ethereal glow. The fire raged on in the fireplace on the wall opposite the window but his palms still felt clammy and cold. He didn't remember being this nervous the last time he offered someone marriage. Then again he never really asked, he just sent a messenger that time. She looked thoughtful and he looked positively green.

"So…" he began.

"I have a couple of questions," she interrupted.

Sasuke gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up against his throat. "Right, of course. I'll answer them as best I could."

"Why do you want to get married? I would think someone who is very popular with the opposite sex and had already been married once would like to enjoy their bachelorhood for as long they can," Sakura said without batting an eyelash.

Well, she certainly doesn't pull any punches, Sasuke thought. He took a drink of his water and carefully placed it back on the coaster before answering. "My inheritance is dependent on the existence of an heir. If I do not have one by time I am thirty, I will be stripped off my title and my estate."

Sakura nodded, taking in his words calmly. "So you expect us to have a child?"

He managed to smirk at her. "Children, if I have any say in it."

"You don't have to be married for that, you know?" she said to him. It wasn't sardonic or mocking, just inquisitive.

"I realize that. However, I do want a family." He paused and smiled as if recalling a pleasant dream. "I've always wanted a family. And I would like for my children to know and respect their mother," he said sincerely.

Sakura seemed satisfied with his answer. She seemed deep in thought so Sasuke opted to stay quiet and let her take the lead in their conversation, even though he wanted nothing more than to shake her and make her tell him that she had decided to say yes. She'd probably pummel him into the ground if he did that.

Sakura smoothed down the front of her dress and abruptly stood up and walked around her chair. She gripped the back of the seat, entrusting it to support her weight. "Why me though? I've seen your former wife and talked to her a couple of times. We're very different."

His lips thinned into a grim line, any mention of his dead wife always put him in a bad mood. He shook his head lightly as if trying to rid himself of her memory; right now he had to focus on Sakura. "You and all of Konoha know just how well that marriage went," he said, not able to bite back the sarcasm in his voice. "You're intelligent, matured, well-rounded, a skilled kunoichi and beautiful. And as far as I know you don't have a taste for young male carpenters." He bit the inside of his cheek; he didn't want her to get the impression that Patrice's personality played any part in his choice to marry her. He watched her face for any sign that she was offended but she had remained neutral and unmoving so he ploughed on. "If they had you for a mother, my children will definitely be the most talented and good looking ninjas in all of Konoha."

Sasuke then stood up and walked around the desk. She instinctively moved backwards as he stalked near her but he stopped her with a hand to her waist. "All of that, they're still reasons why I want to marry you. However, these past few weeks, I saw how you were with your grandparents and Kakashi as well and I knew that any family that we have, it will always be warm and it will always be full of your love. I want that family with you, Sakura."

And as if he couldn't control himself he leaned down and caught her lips in a kiss so forceful that she arched backwards, her neck straining up as his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her tighter against his body. She inhaled his hot breath as his tongue invaded her mouth and enticed her own tongue to come out and play. Her heart beat against her ears as he attacked her mouth with gusto, their lips slanting against each other over and over and she was sure her mouth would bruise in the morning. When they had parted, his eyes were unfocused and his lips were red and puffy. She was sure she looked much worse. His hand rested against her throat as his thumb traced the lines of her neck while his other arm was still wrapped tightly around her waist with no signs of letting go.

"What was that for?" she asked breathlessly.

"Just in case you said no. I wanted to make sure I get one more kiss," he admitted unabashedly.

"Well it was completely unnecessary seeing as I'm about to say yes."

Sakura had always known Sasuke was handsome, she never knew how god-like his face could be when it was graced with an honest to goodness smile. He began leaning towards her once more with every intention to kiss her senseless. Sakura put her hands against his chest and wrestled her body out of his hold. She stepped around the chair to create a barrier between them. Just to be safe, he was rather skilled with his mouth.

Sasuke looked a bit disoriented and it took him a moment to realize his wife to be (he resisted the urge to do a jig in his spot as that was just undignified) was no longer in his arms. He looked at her questioningly.

"I have a few conditions though that we need to discuss before we proceed any further," she explained quickly.

"We can talk about that later," he said as he made a move to push the chair out of the way.

She tutted at him and waved a finger in his face, as if he were an impertinent five-year old. "We will talk first unless you want me to change my mind," she said with a tone that brooked no argument.

He scowled at her. "Fine."

"I have a few conditions of my own. I want a marriage with you, Sasuke-kun, I want my children to have a father and mother that had a true relationship," she started, "When we get married I require that we spend Sundays together and commit to at least one hour a week to have a hot tea talk."

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in askance. "Hot tea talk?"

She blushed a bit. "Hot tea talk was what my mother called it. It's a talk with hot tea, or hot chocolate, maybe some scones or muffins. It doesn't matter really, the point is in that hour we can ask each other any questions and we promise to answer it honestly and no one is allowed to judge or lose their temper."

"Done," he said immediately and stepped towards her once more.

Sakura fled towards the other side of the chair and he let out a grunt of frustration. "I'm not done talking, you're much too impatient," she scolded.

"And I'm insulted that you're not," he returned hotly.

"We will have all the time in the world to," the tips of her ears reddened, "kiss once we're married so just stay put and let me finish."

"Do you promise?"

Sakura's eyes rolled to the back of her head. "Yes, now shut up and listen to me."

He grunted, obviously displeased but let her speak anyway. "Go on."

"I can't part with my grandparents," she stated succinctly.

"I have no intentions of separating you from them. I've already reserved a room for them at my, correction, our home," he said.

She bestowed him an approving smile. "There's just one more thing."

"Go ahead," he said, itching to get this part over with. He swore was going to burn this chair after they're done. He had never hated an inanimate object so much.

Sakura fiddled with her fingers as her cheeks blazed with a blush. She had gotten uncharacteristically shy all of a sudden and Sasuke regarded her curiously, wondering what could have gotten her to this state.

"I want us to wait six months before we consummate the marriage."

The chair toppled over with a loud bang as Sasuke pushed it out of the way.

"What?"

Sakura cleared her throat and repeated her words. "I want us to wait six months before we consummate the marriage."

"But you agreed to have children!"

"I'm quite certain we can create children after six months," she scoffed.

He crossed his arms over his chest, looking very much like a petulant schoolboy. "I would've thought you'd understand from that night we spent stranded in the storm that having children is not the only reason I would like to make love to you."

Her heart soared at his choice of words but she stood her ground, thoughts of Sasuke Uchiha making love to her be damned. "It is difficult enough to forge a relationship while already married. I want us to focus first on building a partnership before we introduce sex to our dynamic."

"You make it sound like a chore. And besides, intimacy is an important part of a marriage," he argued.

She gritted her teeth. "This is not negotiable!"

He frowned; worry lines appearing around his lips. "One month."

Sakura's eyes widened. The nerve of this man. "Four!"

"Two months, Sakura," he insisted.

She resisted stomping her foot on the ground. "Three months and not any less."

He took a moment to consider her offer before stepping forward pulling her towards him by the waist. "Three months and we spend hot tea talks naked."

She could feel her entire face turn red. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack," he deadpanned.

"Well, a heart attack is very serious."

He couldn't help the light chortle bubble out of him. She was the funniest when she didn't mean to be. "So hot tea talks will now be naked hot tea talks?" he asked hopefully.

"If you promise not to try and seduce me before three months," she answered.

His eyes glinted wickedly and gave her that smirk that said he was up to no good. He traced the defined line of her jaw with his index finger and enjoyed the way breasts pressed against his as she took a sharp intake of breath. "Are you admitting that I could successfully seduce you if I wanted to?" he whispered, his hot breath fanning her face.

"I said no such thing," she squeaked out like a captured mouse.

"But you intimated it," he chided, his fingers now playing with a lock of her pink hair. He looked forward to nights when he'd be able to play with her soft hair as they lay beside each other.

"You are much too full of yourself," she said snootily.

He leaned down and sniffed her neck, loving the freshness of her scent. His lips trailed from her ear and downwards towards her cheek before placing a wet kiss on her parted lips. "And in three months you'll be full of me too."

"That is gross, Uchiha," she said, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"You won't be saying that in a few months," he said cockily before kissing her once more. Having the freedom to kiss her anytime was definitely something he had missed half his life. He'd make sure to make up for all that wasted time. He cradled her face in his hands; his palms spanned the side of her face and rested his forehead against hers. "I promise that I will resist myself from ravishing you for three months but I can't promise that I won't try to push our boundaries every chance I get."

"Well, I suppose I am a bit hard to resist," she said thoughtlessly, distracted by the lips sucking the soft skin just underneath her ear.

"Now who's full of themselves?" he said, chuckling against her ear before capturing the delicate lobe with his mouth.

"Will you shut up and kiss me properly now," she cried with a frustrated groan.

If anything, Sasuke Uchiha would be a very obedient husband.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: The Uchihas are a serious bunch. Ino makes a list for reasons to have sex other than love.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Plot elements borrow heavily from Amanda Quick's 'Seduction'.

Seduction

Chapter Six

"Sakura, please advise me if this is going to be a weekly thing, that way I can immediately make arrangements to migrate to another country."

"Oh, Tsunade-sama, don't be like that. I brought quiche!"

"I don't eat breakfast."

"It's true Ino-pig, it gets in the way of her being drunk."

Tsunade gave her prized pupil the stink eye. Sakura decided it best to clamp her mouth shut and smile cheekily at her mentor.

"Come now, Tsunade-sama, I'm sure you can push aside your enmity for me for a couple of hours so we can enjoy a little bit of girl talk with our beloved Sakura-chan here," Ino said with a saccharine smile.

"Fine, but explain to me why your husband seems to have mistaken my backyard for a beach strip." Tsunade cocked her head to the side where Shikamaru was lying down on a beach towel he'd brought along himself.

"I've told him about how you have a lovely view of the clouds from up here. I'm a very thoughtful wife," Ino answered.

Tsunade and Sakura just looked at each other and shrugged.

"So, anyhow," Ino continued on, "have you heard that Sakura actually gave Sasuke-kun an ultimatum that they aren't to consummate their marriage for three months?"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed into slits. "What are you an idiot? That's the best part of being married! Sex without worries!"

Sakura blushed, her cheeks matching her hair. "God, Ino-pig, you just had to blurt it out like that?"

"Yes, because you're an idiot," Ino said. "Why would you ever want to delay that?"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and felt a little bit self-conscious as she spoke. "Well, for one we're not exactly in love yet and it just feels disingenuous for two people to make love when they're not well, in love." It sounded stupid in her head, too.

Ino's eye sockets went white for a moment as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. "I bet you I can give fifty perfectly good reasons to have sex with someone for reasons that have nothing to do with love." She didn't wait for Sakura to respond as she pulled out a notepad and pen out of her little pouch and started writing. "Let's see, horny, break-up sex, make-up sex, revenge sex."

"Drunk sex, pity sex," Tsunade added helpfully.

"Oh, I bet Lee gets a lot of that."

"That's mean Ino!"

"Well it's true, Sakura! Let's see what else?"

"Nothing interesting going on with the clouds."

"Oh, Shika-kun, you're alive. I thought you had melded with the foliage. But thank you dear."

Shikamaru just grunted and went back to cloud watching.

Ino turned back to her list. "Anyway, miscommunication sex."

"What is 'miscommunication sex'?" Tsunade asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Oh you know, you're reaching for the pillow on his side of the bed and your hand accidentally brushes his bulge, he takes it the wrong way and you just go with it," Ino explained.

"Is that what happened last night?"

"Yes, dear."

"Then that's your next reason, she's willing."

"Perfect. My husband is so smart," Ino said, preening.

Tsunade snapped her fingers. "You forgot to get him a birthday present!"

Sakura slammed her palm against her giant forehead and wondered if it was too late to get some new friends.

Sasuke checked himself in the mirror to make sure that everything in his appearance was in order. His father always insisted they don formal wear during their bi-weekly family dinners and since Sasuke never really grew accustomed to the traditional kimono, he chose to wear his official Jounin uniform instead.

He heard a soft rap on his door. He turned his head away from his reflection and called out, "What is it?"

"Lord Uchiha, Miss Sakura Haruno has arrived," Sasuke heard the female maid Yuka announce.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He had told her specifically that he would pick her up from her house and bring her here, as a true gentleman of his stature would, but she always insisted on doing things her way. He turned on his heel and walked towards the door. He walked past Yuka with an almost imperceptible nod to the young girl and headed downstairs to the living area where he was sure Sakura was waiting.

Sakura was sitting on the floral chaise with her knees locked together and feet set firmly on the wooden floorboards. Her hands were fisted in her lap as if she was readying herself for battle. She was wearing a light pink yukata with a matching pink obi. Her hair was tied back away from her face in a loose bun and rouge tinted her lips and cheeks.

"I thought I was going to pick you up at home?" he asked.

Her head shot up to watch him as he walked towards her. She shrugged her shoulders. "It didn't seem to practical to have you go all the way to my house only to come back to the Uchiha district again."

"There's nothing practical about being a proper gentleman," he said with a smirk.

Sasuke held his hand out to her and she promptly took it as she stood up. Sakura wasn't a short woman but he still towered over her.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"If I say no, are we going to skip the whole dinner?" she returned.

He shook his head and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Relax, my family's not going to eat you," he said as he squeezed her shoulders for assurance. "I might though," he added with a leer.

Sakura eyed him wearily. "That doesn't make me feel any better about tonight."

He grinned wickedly at her. "It was a good try, though." He hooked her arm under his and led her towards the foyer. He retrieved her thin jacket and that was hanging from the coat racket and helped her put it on. He insisted on closing the buttons at the front. The nights were getting colder as the winter months approached.

They walked side bye side towards Sasuke's parent's home, which was at the deepest end of the Uchiha district. The manor-like home loomed over the clan's village as if to further impress the family's status as the head of the Uchiha clan.

"I might feel a bit more confident about meeting your family if I knew a little bit about them. You've never really talked about them before, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said softly as her fingers fiddled with the strings of her small pouch.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow towards her. "My father and my brother are in constant competition on who could be the bigger ass and my mother has a tendency to squeal about things she finds 'cute'."

Sakura snorted. "It can't be that bad."

It wasn't that bad. It was worse. Sakura wondered how Sasuke had survived in this environment without ever stabbing himself. Sasuke's father, Fugaku, hadn't said so much as a word to her and had merely acknowledged her with a grunt. His mother, Mikoto, was much more pleasant. Sakura only wished the woman would stop fussing about her pink hair; it wasn't that interesting. Itachi, his brother, stared at her like she was covered in swamp goo. Itachi's wife stuck up her nose at everything and her face was twisted into an expression that made it seem like the smell of dog poop clung to her nose. Their children, two boys, sat stiffly in their chairs and Sakura was yet to be convinced that they're not actually stuffed dolls.

They were all sitting around the long dining table in the main dining hall of the Uchiha home. No one had spoken a word and Sakura wondered why they were even having a family dinner if they were going to act like the other didn't exist. Each chair stood three feet apart and two servants waited on them. They were on the third course when Mikoto finally spoke up. Sakura resisted the urge to jump up and give her a hug.

"Sasuke-chan, have you and your fiancée set a date yet?" she asked sweetly.

Sasuke swallowed the masticated meat in his mouth before he answered, "Sakura and I will be wed in a month's time."

"Well that's a bit quick. How are you supposed to plan for a proper wedding in such a short amount of time?" Mikoto asked, perplexed eyebrows drawing down her face.

"We've agreed to have a simple ceremony, with just our immediate family and our closest friends," Sasuke answered stiffly.

"Are you alright with that, Sakura-chan?" Mikoto asked, eyes shifting towards the pinkhead who was in the middle of chewing a rather stubborn morsel of meat.

Sakura almost choked on her food in her rush to swallow and quickly answered. "Perfectly, Lady Uchiha. I would much prefer a more intimate wedding," she said, a blush rising on her cheeks at having to stare directly at the immaculate face of the Uchiha matriarch. Fugaku was a striking man, even for his age, but it was obvious Sasuke got his aristocratic good looks from his mother.

Mikoto seemed satisfied with her answer. "Have you given any thoughts to your dress yet?"

"Well, I hope to wear my mother's wedding kimono," Sakura answered, her tone sounded like she was asking for her future mother-in-law's permission.

She was rewarded with Mikoto's approving smile. "That's very sweet, Sakura-chan."

Sasuke gave her a wink from where he sat across her as if to tell her she was doing a fine job impressing his mother.

It was then that Fugaku spoke up from his place at the head of the table. "I expect that we'll be seeing an heir from you this time, Sasuke. Itachi has already honored this family with two strong Uchiha sons."

Sasuke's face had remained completely impassive but the grip he had on his fork tightened. "He'd had a seven-year head start on me, Father. We'd have to question his sterility if he had remained childless until now."

Itachi glared at Sasuke from where he sat on Fugaku's left.

Fugaku seemed unruffled by his youngest son's words as he continued. "If you hadn't been so foolish in choosing your first wife perhaps you would have heirs of your own by now."

Sasuke let out a disgruntled snort. "I had no idea starting a family was a race," he said dryly.

Sakura disguised her giggle with a cough and bowed her head down when Fugaku gave her a passing glance.

"Let's just hope you didn't pick up another dud for a wife this time," Fugaku's words echoed with malicious grace.

Sakura was just about to take off her earrings and tell Fugaku to wait just a goddamn minute when Sasuke abruptly stood up from his seat and threw his napkin on his half-finished meal. "Excuse me, I seem to have lost my appetite," he said curtly before he promptly stormed out of the room.

Sakura sprung to her feet and muttered, "I'll go check on him." She quickly followed him out of the dining hall, not deigning to look back at Sasuke's family. Once she'd stepped out into the hallway, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. She noticed the door to the kitchen still swinging violently on its hinges and knew instantly where her future husband had disappeared to. She cursed the constricting yukata that slowed her down. She hoped Sasuke still had enough sense in him to wait for her; getting lost in the Uchiha mansion was not exactly part of her to-do list. She need not worry after all.

Seconds after she stepped through the threshold she was wrapped in Sasuke's strong arms. His back was leaning against the wall right next to the door and he buried his head in the junction where her neck and shoulder met as if he needed her scent to calm him. Her fisted hands were arrested between her soft breasts and his hard chest and she could feel the heavy beats of his heart.

"You shouldn't let him get to you," she whispered in his ear that was right against her lips.

"That's one jutsu I haven't mastered and I've been trying for the last twenty-five years," he said, his warm breath moistening her skin.

"Is he always like this?" she asked carefully.

"He's actually worse. He's holding himself back since we have a guest." He didn't have to tell her that she was the guest. She didn't mind though, technically she still wasn't considered a part of his family and after that display by his father, she wasn't sure she would ever strive to be.

"Does he lace your food with poison when no one's around then?" she said sarcastically.

Sasuke's chuckles reverberated through his ribcage. The sensation of Sasuke's muscles rippling under her hands ignited feelings in her that she was pretty sure wasn't appropriate considering the situation they were in. Thankfully (for her hormones' sake) he lifted his head from her shoulder so he could peer into her face. Callused fingers brushed pink hair that had rebelled against its bun away from her face.

"I'm glad you followed me," he said solemnly.

She looked at him oddly. "What else was I supposed to do?"

Her answer brought light into his usually dreary eyes. "Can you promise me something, Sakura?" he asked seriously.

"As long as it's not something sexual."

He threw his head back and let out a strained guffaw, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down his throat deliciously. He looked back down at her before he spoke again. "It's not, I swear to you," he said as he cupped her face and pinched her cheeks.

Sakura giggled softly, the sight of his smile was infectious. "What is it then?"

Sasuke sighed deeply and rested his forehead against her, their faces so close that she could feel the flutter of his eyelashes against her skin. "Promise me that when we have children, if I start to play favorites, you'll give me a beating."

Sakura stood on her tiptoes and kissed his forehead. "You'll never be like him, Sasuke-kun. You'll be a wonderful father."

The month leading to their wedding went by like a blur to Sakura. Even with the small wedding there was still so much to prepare and there were times that Sakura doubted everything would come together. At the same time she had to arrange her and her grandparents' move to Sasuke's house in the Uchiha district. Kakashi insisted to her that Grandpa and Grandma Haruno could stay with him at least for another month or so since Sasuke and Sakura should enjoy the first month of their marriage together alone. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Sakura thumped her former sensei's head and called him a dirty old man. He took offense to being called old. Nevertheless, she agreed to delay her grandparents' move. Kakashi thought of all of them as his family and she knew the real reason he'd asked her as much was because he wanted her grandparents to stay with him for just a little bit longer.

Sasuke had given her full access to his accounts and told her to spend as much as she wanted on the wedding. She felt quite uneasy being given free reign to a disgustingly huge amount of wealth. Ino was more than happy to step in. Although Sakura was forever present to control the blonde's impulses, like that one time she wanted to get a wedding cake bedazzled with rhinestones. How would one even eat those?

Sakura took out and cleaned her mother's wedding kimono a week before the set wedding date. The white had become somewhat yellowish and there were small holes in the in the seams. Grandma Haruno offered to darn the holes and bleach the dress. In the end it still looked a little rough but it was beautiful nonetheless.

Sakura was quite surprised with herself with how well she had been handling her impending marriage. There were no bouts of fear or doubt as she went about the planning. She felt serene as Kakashi, her surrogate father, gave her away while her grandparents watched from the front row. Even the sight of Itachi watching her like she was some sort of newt didn't bother her. And then the Shinto priest handed Sasuke the porcelain cup filled with sake. Sasuke stretched his hands towards her, signaling for her to drink next. All hell broke loose.

"Excuse me, I need a moment," Sakura choked as she scrambled up from where she kneeled in front of the Shinto priest. She could feel everyone's eyes boring into her back as she made a mad dash towards the side door of the wedding hall. The door swung open with a hard push of her small hands. She inhaled deep gulps of air as soon as she was outside

A litany of 'Oh my gods' fell out of her lips as Sakura realized she'd just been struck by cold feet right in the middle of the ceremony. The apprehension she had been feeling a moment ago was immediately replaced with the feeling of wretchedness as she realized how embarrassed Sasuke must be right now. Then that was quickly replaced with the feeling of fear as she pictured various ways Sasuke would kill her.

The door opened behind her and she turned around expecting Tsunade or Ino but was instead fazed with the sight of her half-husband.

"At least you didn't run away completely," he said, a lot calmer than Sakura had expected him to be.

Sakura bit her lip, tasting the bitter rouge on her lips. "Sasuke…"

"What's wrong?" he asked patiently.

Her mouth dropped open, unable to believe he would even need to ask. "This is a big deal, Sasuke-kun. We're getting married. Married!"

He frowned at her, thick black eyebrows curling downwards. "Well, yes that's what we've been planning for the last month," he said.

"Aren't you the least bit scared? You're going to be marrying me, you're going to be together, forever, 'til death do us part stuck with me!" she cried out hysterically.

He tilted his head to the side and regarded her fondly. "No."

Sakura blinked up owlishly at him. "Oh, it's just me then."

Sasuke sighed and looked down at his shoes. "We can still cancel the wedding. I'll inform the guests."

"No, wait!" she yelled before he could turn his back on her. "I said I was scared, I never said I didn't want to marry you."

He smirked at her, a smirk that was softened the sharp structure of his face. "Would it help if I held your hand throughout?" he asked her as if she were a small child.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, I think that would help very much."

Sasuke enclosed one soft, tiny hand in his large, callused ones. The only time he let go was when he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her for the first time as his wife.

Sakura stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a simple, cotton nightgown that brushed the top of her knees. It wasn't anything special; in fact it was a bit old. It was her favorite thing to sleep in; it was cool and comfortable. And she just really needed something familiar in this wholly unfamiliar world she found herself in.

With another deep breath Sakura turned the knob and entered Sasuke's bedroom. That wasn't right though, was it? It was their bedroom now.

The lamps were turned off and the only source of light was the moon's glow outside.

Sasuke was already underneath the covers, blanket pulled up to his naked hips and his back propped up by three mounted pillows. As soon as he saw her enter the room he lifted the duvet on her side of the bed and patted the mattress to invite her in. His face remained blank but there was no mistaking the slight leer in his dark eyes.

Sakura sat at the very edge of the bed; if she had moved any further she would fall to the floor. She daintily removed her slippers and set them neatly underneath the bed so she could retrieve it easily in the morning. She slid underneath the covers and he arranged the blanket over her so that it was tucked tightly under her arms.

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "We can sleep, I guess."

"That's it?" she asked.

The smirk was back on his lips. "Were you expecting something else?" he said suggestively.

She rolled her eyes in the darkness. "No," she said succinctly. "It just seems a little anti-climactic don't you think? After putting all of that together we're just going to go to sleep."

"It would have been a lot more climactic if you hadn't demanded to postpone the honeymoon," he teased. She didn't miss the double entendre.

"Ino says I should at least give you a blowjob," she said with a giggle.

"I think Ino is a very wise woman."

Sakura laughed heartily at that. Sasuke arranged his pillows so he could lie flat on his back before he turned on his side. He moved his head towards her side of the bed and led her lips to his. The kiss was soft and lazy, very different from the lustful and possessive kisses he usually took from her.

A satisfied hum left his lips when they parted. Her eyes fluttered open to watch his sleepy face right in front of her.

"Regardless, it doesn't look like we'd be doing much tonight. I'm absolutely knackered," he said as he opened his eyes and looked down his middle.

Sakura blushed at the insinuation. "It's strange, isn't it? It didn't seem like we really did much of anything, kneel before a priest, mingle with people and yet I'm so tired."

He yawned involuntarily. "It's the stress from the last month, you're probably just feeling it now," he said.

"That's true," she answered.

Sasuke scooted nearer towards her body and wrapped an arm around her waist. He tucked her head underneath his chin and seemed to have decided that it was time for them to sleep.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"What is it?" he grunted lazily.

"What's it like being married?" she asked carefully.

His chest rustled against her cheek as he took a deep breath. "I'm hardly the person you should ask."

"But you were married," she insisted.

Sasuke moved around so he was laid on his back. He easily pulled Sakura up so that she was lying on top of him and they were pressed together from the chests down to their feet. His hands rested on her lower back, right above her backside. She propped her chin up with her hands so she could look up to his face.

"The first time I met my last wife was on the day of our wedding," he started slowly. "I picked out her name from a stack of folders and entrusted a solicitor to make the arrangements. The day after our wedding I went off to Sound to continue my training under Orochimaru and left her here to make a home for us. I only saw her every other weekend and most of that time was spent socializing with other clan members or other prominent clans like the Hyuugas or the Naras. She had always been a social butterfly, she thrived on the attention showered upon her during these social events that she usually put together. Or perhaps she was just compensating for the attention I refused her. I'm quite certain that's not how a marriage should be."

Sakura frowned deeply, eyes tinged with sadness. "I didn't know."

He rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. "You must've had an idea. The entirety of Konoha knew how disastrous my marriage was. I was always away at Sound as if I couldn't stand to be in the presence of my wife for longer than a day and she wasn't very discreet with her liaisons with other men. Everyone was making bets on how soon the divorce would happen."

"Why didn't you? Divorce, I mean?"

"I didn't want to admit defeat," he answered without hesitation. "Itachi's wife just gave birth to their second child and my father was pressuring me for an heir. I thought perhaps if we had a child it would get better. But it wasn't in the cards for us. I suppose it's for the better, what kind of people would we be to bring an innocent child into such a hostile home?"

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip. "What if the same thing happens to us?"

Her question struck a chord within him and he pulled her into a tight embrace, squeezing her middle with such force she was sure it would bruise in the morning. "No, I refuse to make the same mistakes with you. Patrice and I, we were practically children when we got married. She did a lot of things to hurt me, but I wasn't a very ideal husband either."

Sakura looked up at him with determined eyes. "We'll work on this marriage together," she said in a solemn promise.

Sasuke leaned his head forward and kissed her deeply, his open mouth slanting against her pliant ones. Their tongues met and explored each other, remnants of the sake they'd had earlier giving Sakura that feeling of being drunk.

Sasuke flipped them over and pressed her body into the mattress, their bodies melting together until no light could pass between them. The heat of his skin burned her senses and it felt like he left a blaze of fire with every part of her body he touched. His hands snaked between them and squeezed her unbound breasts and her nipples peaked at his attention. His spiky hair tickled her chin as he moved his head downwards to worship the column of her throat with nips and sucks.

Sakura exhaled a loud squeal when Sasuke's mouth moved over her tits. He pushed the neckline of her nightgown as far as it would go, kissing the flesh he exposed. When it would go down no further he settled for encasing his hot mouth on one perky mound and licked her erect nipple poking through the thin cotton of her nightgown. A hand began trailing up her inner thigh in search of her virgin core.

"Sasuke-kun," she cried breathlessly. "Sasuke, wait!"

She pushed at his shoulders to get his attention. It took him a moment to realize that she had stopped responding to his ministration and his mouth let go of the tit he was eagerly sucking. His eyes were glazed and unfocused and his lips puffy and red.

Sakura calmed her beating heart, her body was still pulsing and begging for his touch but she wasn't going to let desire rule her. She had more control than that; she would like to think.

"You promised," she said simply.

Sasuke seemed disoriented and it had taken a while before the meaning of her words sunk in. He shook his head as if to whisk away his lust induced haze. They embraced each other in the darkness as they waited for their bodies to calm down.

"I was hoping you'd fall for my sob story."

She chuckled at his attempt at humor. "You would really settle for pity sex?"

"I'm a man, Sakura. If you're willing I wouldn't hesitate," he said without a hint of embarrassment.

Sakura guffawed and planned in her head to have Shikamaru and her husband meet, they may have a lot more in common than they realize.

Husband, Uchiha Sasuke was her husband. Her inner twelve-year old had died and gone to heaven.

"We should probably retire for the night. I'm not sure if I could stand any more of your seduction," he drawled casually with a kiss to her temple.

"My seduction?" Sakura scoffed with disbelief.

"Mm-hmm," he hummed tiredly. "You tease me with your very presence only to leave me hanging in the end."

"I cannot help my natural swagger after all," she answered him.

He snickered. "We Uchihas are a proud lot, aren't we?"

His words were in jest but she knew it meant a lot. Family was important to Sasuke and for him to openly give her his name meant that to him, she was already family.

"We definitely are."

He kissed her one more time before tucking her head under his chin, nose buried in her pink hair. "Good night, Mrs. Uchiha." His smile radiated from his voice.

She allowed herself a girlish grin. "Good night, Sasuke-kun."

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Naked hot tea talks. Sakura snoops and plays detective.
> 
> End Notes: So I hope you like that chapter. Lily Aldrin from 'How I Met Your Mother' has the copyright on the 'Fifty Reasons to Have Sex.' Hee.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. Plot elements borrow heavily from Amanda Quick's 'Seduction'.

Seduction

Chapter Seven

"You do realize that's cheating?"

Sakura scoffed at her oh-so-observant husband. Sasuke was lounging like an Adonis on the teal Recamier that leaned against the end of their marital bed while she stood barefoot by the bathroom door. She clung tighter to the two throw pillows she'd used to protect her dignity.

"Not all of us are completely comfortable parading around au natural," she said, her eyes focused on the spot above his head.

"I think it poses as a bigger problem if I can't be comfortable being naked in front of my wife." He sat up and put his feet on the floor and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "Relax, Sakura, come sit with me."

"I'm quite comfortable where I am," she squeaked like a captured mouse.

"Come now, Sakura, you're a doctor I'm sure you've seen many naked men before me."

"Of course, but they aren't usually so…rigid," she muttered, a blush rising up on her cheeks.

"It's usually the case when I'm in your presence, clothes just tend to hide it better," he drawled unabashedly, an impish smirk on his face.

"Can't you do something about it?" she asked, her uneasiness making her shoulders curl towards her body.

"Are you suggesting I relieve myself in front of you? I've never thought you to be this kinky, Sakura," he said with a teasing lilt.

Sakura sent a glare worthy of an Uchiha his way.

Sasuke simply sighed and put his head in his hands, muttering 'Itachi in a bikini' under his breath. "Well, that was quick," he mumbled while staring at his now limp manhood. "Will you sit with me now my darling wife? It's not going to attack you."

Sakura walked towards him carefully, making sure that he wouldn't get a glimpse of her backside. She settled her bum on the edge of the couch, legs clamped together while her hands strangled the pillows in on her lady parts. Sasuke rolled his eyes and grabbed her around the waist. He leaned back against the headrest and dragged his wife along with him so that her back lay comfortably against his chest. She'd managed to hang on to her throw pillows still, clinging to it tighter than the lid of a pickle jar. Sakura bit back a squeal as she felt a very male part of his anatomy brush against the softest part of her lower back.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her left shoulder. "Just relax, Sakura," he whispered against her skin. "So how do these hot tea talks work exactly?"

Sakura took a deep breath and tried to slow down the beat of her heart. She reminded herself that this was Sasuke and she had always been safe with him. "You can start by asking me something."

He seemed to consider it for a moment before she felt his chin move against her shoulder as he began to speak. "How come you never got married? You always seemed to be the type who'd want a family and considering our shelf life as ninjas I'd have thought you'd want to start as early as possible. And I know there have been others who'd offered you marriage, so how come?"

Sakura tilted her head sideways, her hair inadvertently brushing his cheek. "I didn't want to marry a stranger. And I had other obligations."

"Like your family?"

She nodded. "After my parents died it was all up to me. I couldn't just leave them and ride off to the sunset with the next bloke who wanted to impregnate me. You were the only one who promised to take care of them as well."

Sasuke smiled as he kissed her shoulder. "Stupid blokes. I'll have to thank them though for my good fortune."

Her body relaxed against his arms unconsciously, her head leaning back to rest against his chest. "You were pretty stupid too in the beginning," she reminded him.

"Hmm, but I got it right eventually, didn't I?" he said. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Well technically, it should be my turn but I can't seem to think of anything right now," she said with a soft sigh. She didn't expect his nearness to have the effect of a calming drug.

"Why did you stop talking to me?"

He couldn't see her face but felt the tense shift of her body and wondered if it was too soon to talk about their tentative friendship as teammates. "You don't have to answer it right now," he said.

She curled her legs closer to her body as if a cold draft had hit her. "I was embarrassed of the way I acted towards you when you were younger. Even when I think about it now I still feel like such an idiot chasing after you like that. I just didn't want to be that girl anymore."

He swallowed the lump that had lodged in his throat. "I hadn't meant for you to feel like that."

She patted his hand that rested against her stomach. "It's alright, it's in the past. And besides you didn't owe me anything."

He tightened his hold on her, his body molding against her back as he placed soft kisses from her shoulder up to her neck. "For what it's worth," he whispered against her ear, "it meant something to me that you cared about me. And I did care for you then too."

"Just not enough," she said in a voice so low he almost missed it.

And in that moment he couldn't bring himself to tell her that wasn't true. She would never realize it but that hurt him more than it did her.

Sakura emitted a strained chuckle as she straightened her back, allowing him a glimpse of her curvy bottom without meaning to. He wondered if he was perhaps the complete bastard Naruto always called him if he could appreciate such a sight at a time like this. "I think it should be my turn ask questions now," she said with false cheeriness.

Sasuke put a hand under her chin and made her face him. He placed a chaste kiss on her lips and said, "Ask me anything." He would answer all her questions if it would make up for the way he'd treated her when they were younger.

Her pink lips curled into a moue. He could see the hesitation in her green eyes but she pushed back her shoulders and steeled her resolve. "Did you love her?"

His brows furrowed with confusion. "Who?"

"Patrice," she said clearly. "You were married for almost three years."

Sasuke closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He knew of course that she might eventually ask about his previous wife, he just didn't expect that it would be this soon or she would be this blunt. He curled a finger on a lock of her pink hair, eyes focused on her dainty ear as he tried to sift through his memories. It wasn't that it was such a long time that he had forgotten about Patrice and their marriage; he just didn't like to be reminded of it too much.

"I was very attracted to her in the beginning, she had always been beautiful -much more so than any woman I've ever met," he said, not daring to look at her face afraid of the pain he might see there. "But more than that she had this lightness to her that appealed to me. She wasn't a ninja; she'd never been exposed to the darkness and violence that has been ingrained in people like us since childhood. It was refreshing."

Sakura nodded. She understood what he was saying, it was the same reason Sayuri had been so precious to her. That innocence of someone who had never seen pain nor death, it was something that Sakura had been envious of and at the same time she wanted to protect in Sayuri. And she didn't mind that he had inadvertently admitted that he found Patrice more beautiful than she was; Sakura had shed her vanity a long time ago. She leaned her head back against his chest once more and looked up so she could place a kiss under his chin, a silent prodding for him to continue.

"The very thing that attracted me to her in the start was what drew us apart in the end. I didn't understand her and she didn't understand me. But I don't think I would hate her as much as I do if I never felt anything for her," he reluctantly admitted.

She didn't miss the way he had phrased his words. "What is it, Sasuke-kun? What is it that you couldn't forgive her for?"

Sasuke buried his head in the nook of her neck and shoulders, his body shook around her. "She killed our baby." And he still mourned.

A soundless gasp escaped her lips. "Sasuke-kun…"

"Don't, let's just stay like this," he pleaded. He didn't want her pity. He just wanted her comfort.

She squeezed the arms that were wrapped around her form and shed tears that he couldn't. He let her.

…

Sasuke had always been an early riser. His body would awaken at the first light of dawn and he never wasted any time to dally around. Sakura on the other hand seemed to relish her sleep until the very last second, stretching across the bed like a lazy cat. She would refuse to wake up until she absolutely had to. He didn't mind so much, after their first week of being married, watching her sleep was quickly becoming one of his favorite activities in the world.

Sakura had always had soft features, button nose, bow lips and plump cheeks and while her eyes were striking, they were tempered by its light shade of green. But when she was awake they were hardened by the expression of alertness and paranoia that was inherent in all ninjas. But in her sleep all that would be gone and all that was left was this open and almost childlike countenance.

Sasuke sat at her bedside, his body barely touching her hips. He leaned over her and supported his form his with arms so as not to crush her.

Sasuke had begun to memorize the movements of her face as she was in the process of waking up. He wondered if she realized that it was always the same, as if she had choreographed it in her sleep. Her mouth parted slightly, taking in air, before her nose twitched as if it had been tickled with a feather. Her lips would smack together twice before her pink tongue would come out to lick them. Her eyes would flutter slowly, dark eyelashes brushing against her skin five times before they would fully open, still sleepy and half-aware.

"Sasuke-kun," she muttered lowly as she woke up to the sight of her husband hovering over her.

"Good morning," he greeted. He leaned down to kiss the lips that were still wet from her earlier attention.

"Why are you up so early?" she said with a sigh. At the back of her mind she knew it was a weekend and she usually slept in on days she didn't have work.

"Have you forgotten what we talked about last night?" he asked with a chuckle.

She closed her eyes as she tried to shake off her sleepiness and recalled their conversation from the night before. "Mmm, you're leaving for Sound today."

"Just for two days. But I didn't want to go before saying goodbye," he said. "Will you be staying here or will you stay with your grandparents and Kakashi while I'm gone?"

Sakura stretched her body, extending her arms over her head and arching her back, her soft breasts accidentally brushing his chest. He took advantage of her half-awake state and pressed closer. "I'll be over at Kakashi-sensei's most of the day probably and maybe see Ino. But I'll sleep here, I still have to get used to our bed."

"I think you're pretty used to it already with the way you were snoring last night," he said with an arched eyebrow.

She let out an affronted gasp. "I do not snore!"

"How would you know? You were sleeping," he said staunchly.

Not having anything to say she decided to just stick her tongue out at him.

He smirked. "They were very sexy snores though so you don't have to worry."

Sakura giggled as he leaned down to nuzzle her neck. "Now you're just making fun of me."

She squealed when he jumped on the bed, shoes and all, and pressed her down the mattress. Sasuke arrived in Sound much later than he had planned.

…

Sakura spent the morning with her grandparents. Her grandfather had been doing much better. He hadn't regained complete control of the left side of his body but with therapy he was now able to sit up and walk short distances with the assistance of his nurse. With continuous therapy he should be able to walk in a couple of months with the aid of a cane. It was lucky, the doctors had told her, that his mind seemed to not be affected at all. He was as sharp and grumpy as he was before the stroke. Although he did complain a lot about not being able to work, he wasn't very happy about being 'useless' around the house as he put it. Sakura and Kakashi would indulge him by letting him water the house plants while his nurse pushed him around in his wheelchair. Her grandmother would titter and fuss about and beg her husband to take his rest.

Sakura was a bit surprised to find Kakashi impeccably groomed and dressed so early on a Saturday morning. She smelled the stench of his cologne the moment she stepped inside the front door of his house. Admittedly, Kakashi did clean up well but he was usually too lazy to do so. She suspected it had something to do with the waifish nurse that they hired to take care of Grandpa Haruno. Kakashi vehemently denied this of course. He could be such a pre-schooler sometimes.

Ino dropped by sometime after lunch and unloaded her repository of gossip on Nana Haruno. The little old lady was very invested in Ino's stories even though she had no idea who half the people involved was. The juiciest gossip involved the usually shy and reserved academy teacher Iruka-sensei being caught with his pants down with the equally shy and reserved medic-nin Shizune in the alley behind the hospital. Sakura's only response was, "Go get that ass, Shizune!" She always thought Iruka-sensei was pretty hot.

Ino and Sakura left the house around four in the afternoon when her grandparents turned in for an afternoon nap. Kakashi practically pushed the two friends out of the house, probably wanting to attempt to flirt his way into the nurse's skirt. Sakura threatened to castrate him if they get sued for sexual harassment. He slammed the door in her face.

Ino dragged Sakura down towards the training grounds. The blond pulled out a picnic blanket from inside her magic pouch. Sakura still wondered how Ino could possibly pack so many things inside that little pouch; she swore Ino was made of magic. The two women took off their shoes and lay down on their stomachs, their feet dangling in the air, as they watched a couple of ninjas (a mix of academy students, genins, chuunins and the occasional jounin) as they practiced their jutsus.

"God," Ino wailed, "Lee-san is such a shrimp."

"Shrimp?" Sakura asked, confusion etched in her face as she watched a shirtless Lee run laps across the field.

"He's just like a shrimp. Delicious body but such an unfortunate face," Ino answered with a straight face.

"Sometimes I question why we're friends."

Ino scoffed as she checked her nail beds. "Oh please, who else are you going to be best friends with?"

Sakura shrugged. "Tenten and I happen to be very close."

"Tenten is an idiot. She thinks Neji's obsessive nature and stalking habits is romantic."

"Point."

Ino smirked triumphantly. "So what's it like being married to the Uchiha? Still a virgin?"

Sakura reddened. "He is a gentleman and he respects my wishes."

"That's usually a code word for slightly gay," Ino retorted.

"Is there such a thing as slightly gay?"

Ino slapped her arm. "Don't try to change the subject!"

Sakura rubbed her abused arm. "Was that really necessary?" she said with a pout. She reached for the bag of potato chips that Ino had been monopolizing and dunked her hand inside. "He's actually very sweet. It's rather unnerving."

"How so?"

Sakura tapped her fingers against her chin. "I've known him all my life. It's rather hard to reconcile the man who made me breakfast in bed the morning after our wedding and the boy who constantly called me annoying and once threatened to file a restraining order against me when we were fifteen."

"Well you were such a stalker back then, I really don't blame him," Ino returned.

Sakura shut up because it was true.

"Still, Sakura, that was a decade ago. I think it's for the better you forget that boy and focus on getting to know the lovely man you have now," Ino said thoughtfully.

Sakura looked at her bemusedly. "I know that, but it's harder than it looks."

"It's only hard because you're trying to resist him too much," the blond assessed. "Sakura, Sayuri's not going to resent you if you choose to be happy."

"This isn't about Sayuri," she answered curtly.

"If you say so," Ino said although it was obvious she had remained unconvinced.

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip. It wasn't that she didn't want to be happy, she just felt it unfair to enjoy her life when her sister wasn't given a chance to live out her own.

"Oh, look, Lee is doing push-ups!" Ino did always have the attention span of a teacup. "He should just really put a bag over his head, it would completely up his game."

"Ino, do you have a crush on Lee?"

Ino choked on her potato chip. "Of course not!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Let me rephrase that, do you covet his bulging biceps?"

Blond and red apparently didn't go too well together. Ino looked like a rotten tomato. "Don't tell Shikamaru."

…

Sakura knew it was a dream. For one, she knew her husband was still in Sound so there was no way he could be lying in bed next to her. Although the dead giveaway was the vision of Patrice Uchiha standing at the end of their bed and watching over the newly married couple.

Patrice Uchiha really was quite gorgeous, Sakura admitted to herself. She was a classic beauty with her sharp, defined cheekbones and her high-bridged nose. Her features made it obvious that she wasn't a native of Konoha. She'd always looked like she was a goddess that had descended from the heavens. Her lips quirked into a smile that didn't quite reach her sad, grey eyes. "He looks much happier with you than he ever was with me," she said in Sakura's native language that was edged with a foreign accent.

Sakura blinked up at her. It was strange that she wasn't afraid of this ghostly apparition standing before her.

"You two would be much happier if you could just completely give in to each other."

Sakura woke up with a start. She looked around her and Sasuke's bedroom to make sure everything was still in order. And just as it had been before she went to bed, Sasuke's side was empty and his dead wife wasn't in their room. She was about to lie back down when she noticed the door was left ajar. She frowned, she was sure she had locked it before she slept.

Sakura got on her bare feet and moved to close the door. Sharp yellow eyes caught her attention. She looked down to see a fluffy, white cat standing outside her bedroom door.

"How'd you get in here?" Sakura asked sweetly. She kneeled down to pick up the cat in her arms but the little feline moved away from her reach.

The cat walked all the way towards the staircase before it looked back at her, as if beckoning her to follow. She felt compelled to walk after it as if someone was pushing her to do so.

Sakura followed the feline up the stairs. She had never been to the third floor of Sasuke's house. As far as she knew it was composed of just a couple of guest bedrooms and some storage rooms.

The floorboards creaked under her feet, increasing the eeriness of the situation. She half-expected a masked man to jump at her with a chainsaw.

The cat stopped in front of an unlocked door and looked at Sakura once more before going on inside. Sakura quickly followed. She spotted the cat sitting cozily on top of a black jewelry box on an antique vanity by the wall.

"Come here kitty," she mewled as she moved towards it.

The cat apparently had no intentions of being caught and jauntily leaped outside an open window, causing the jewelry box to topple over the vanity and spilling its contents on the floor.

"Oh great," Sakura mumbled under her breath. She moved around the bed to clean up the mess the cat had made. It was then that her eyes caught sight of a ring that made her heart jump towards her throat.

On the floor was a ring. A ring that had an emblem of water snake in the shape of an S. The exact same ring she had found in Sayuri's possessions.

"Who's there?"

Sakura clutched her chest as she turned around to see their maid Yuka standing by the open door looking like she'd seen a ghost.

"Oh my, Lady Uchiha you scared me!" she squeaked before she sighed in relief.

Sakura laughed nervously. "You scared me!"

"Lord, when I heard the ruckus up here I thought we were being haunted," the young maid said as she walked inside the room.

"Haunted?"

"Well, you do know that this used to be Miss Patrice's room?" Yuka said, shuddering at the mention of her late mistress' name.

Sakura scrunched her nose. "But Sasuke's room is downstairs?"

Yuka gulped. "A year after their marriage Miss Patrice moved up here. What were you doing in here Lady Uchiha?"

"Well, there was a cat and I was chasing after it," Sakura said, feeling a little unsure of herself.

Yuka looked at her strangely. "I wonder how that cat got in, we lock all the doors and windows before we go to bed," she muttered to herself. "Can we leave here now? This place gives me the creeps."

Sakura nodded. She wasn't too fond of the room either. "Let me just clean this up, the cat knocked over the jewelry box when it jumped out the window."

Yuka tilted her head to the side. "That's strange, I was sure we had gotten rid of all of Miss Patrice's things. Lord Uchiha made sure of that."

"Perhaps it had been overlooked?" Sakura said with a shrug.

"I'll clean it up in the morning, Lady Uchiha. I'll ask the cook to come with me," Yuka promised.

Sakura nodded. She leaned down, making it seem like she was just scratching her ankle, and stealthily slipped the ring on the floor between her fingers. "Let's go back down."

Back in her and Sasuke's bed, rest did not come to her. All she could think of was why Patrice Uchiha had been in possession of the same ring as her sister.

…

On Monday morning, Sakura occupied herself with a stack of paperwork. She took advantage of the low volume of patients in the hospital to handle the more menial part of her job. She picked up her files from the office and went back home. Sasuke's home office was a lot more comfortable than her messy and small cubicle at the hospital. She wondered if she could trick him into buying her a leather chair similar to his.

Sakura was writing up the results for the last batch of ANBU's physical examination when her husband came bursting through the office door, breathing heavily and looking a lot less put together than usual.

"Good, you're here," he exclaimed.

"Hello to you too," she said with an amused smirk.

Sasuke moved around the desk and leaned against the edge of the table. "Sakura, I know this is short notice and this wasn't exactly how I had planned to spend the second week of our marriage. But Orochimaru had wanted to visit Konoha and I had agreed that we're going to host their stay here."

Sakura didn't really know too much about Sasuke's famed teacher. She remembered Tsunade talking about him; after all he was her teammate. Tsunade had mentioned that he was very talented and ambitious but weird and a bit perverted. That story about how Orochimaru tried to engage Tsunade and Jiraiya in a threesome particularly stuck out in her head.

"That's alright, I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble. When are they coming?" she asked patiently.

"Well, now."

"Oh, well that is very short notice. I'm sure we'd be able to put something together with the help of Yuka. That girl is a monster," she said with a bit of awe.

She stood up and moved towards the door all but ready to call on Yuka. Sasuke caught up to her and twisted her around to face him.

"There's just one more thing, Sakura. There is someone who is a part of Orochimaru's entourage. Now, Sakura, I just want you to know that it's all in the past and I haven't even thought of her in years and it never meant anything, it doesn't even come close to what we have," he said very quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth inelegantly.

Sakura though was only half-listening to him. She was ticking off all the things they had to prepare in her head. "What are you babbling about?"

"Sasuke-kun your home is magnificent!"

Sakura whirled her head around to look at the owner of the high-pitched voice. She recognized the woman immediately with her red hair and cat-eye glasses. The woman was infamous for her high-profile affairs with known shinobis. The most notorious of them all was of course the one she had with Sakura's dear husband.

The woman seemed to have realized that Sasuke wasn't alone. Sakura couldn't help but feel a bit molested at the way the redhead gazed at her, inspecting every part of her body from the tips of her pink hair to her exposed toes.

"Is this your wife, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, eyes still focused on the pinkhead that was now blushing madly.

Sasuke wrapped his arm protectively around Sakura's waist. "Karin, this is my wife Sakura. Sakura, this is Karin, one of Orochimaru's aides."

Karin drew nearer to Sakura and held out her hand. "It's lovely to meet you."

Sakura couldn't help but feel naked under her brazen stare. "Same," she said politely as she extended her hand as well.

Karin shook it but did not immediately let go. "She's very beautiful, Sasuke-kun. I can see why you snatched her up so quickly."

Sakura was feeling a bit queasy with the way Karin was looking at her and the fact that she didn't seem to want to let go of her hand. It was not until Sasuke not so subtly pried Karin's hands away that the redhead relinquished her hold. Although she didn't seem too happy about it and glared at Sasuke for good measure.

"My lord has gone ahead and checked in at a hotel in town. He wanted to know if lunch today was still a go," Karin said, still not looking at Sasuke. This woman had a bit of a staring problem.

Sasuke coughed to get her attention. "You can tell him that he and the rest of his entourage can come here at lunchtime."

Karin nodded. "Very well." She turned around to leave but before she exited the room, she looked back at Sakura. "I am looking forward to getting to know you better, Sakura." The newly christened Mrs. Uchiha's name seemed to slither like a snake around her tongue.

Sakura wondered what exactly her husband had gotten her into.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Karin pops up everywhere. Ino and Sakura talk precious metals. Sasuke is still deprived but determined.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Plot elements borrow heavily from Amanda Quick's "Seduction".

"Sakura, this isn't working out."

"Sasuke-kun, I already lost the pillows! What else could you possibly want?"

"How about we remove the industrial strength blindfold you wrapped around my head?"

Sakura huffed loudly. "You can't get everything you want."

"Of course I can. I'm Sasuke Uchiha."

Sakura crossed her legs. "Sasuke-kun, the last time that worked was with your mother when you were twelve. It was cute back then; now it's just kind of pathetic, really."

"I'm taking off the blindfold!" he pronounced with the same gung-ho attitude he exhibited during his spars with Naruto. He reached behind his head and untied the complicated fastening, all the while cursing his wife's talent at tying knots. He ripped it away from his head and had to blink several times to clear the blurriness from his eyes, only to discover Sakura already in their bed and holding the blanket up to her chin. He glared at her.

"I have issues with nudity. It's going to take me a while to come to terms with it," she said nonchalantly.

Sasuke stood up from the Recamier and walked towards his side of the bed. He settled in beside her—over the covers, of course—and lay on his side, facing her. He propped himself up with an elbow while his other arm traced the shape of her legs through the blanket.

"It's really quite liberating, Sakura. In fact, I'm considering becoming a nudist," he told her.

Sakura relaxed enough to tuck the blankets under her armpits. "Well should you decide to, I would appreciate it if you'd tell me first. I'll move back in with Kakashi before the stampede of women and the occasional men bulldoze the house."

"What a supportive wife you've turned out to be," Sasuke said with light sarcasm.

"It's called self-preservation," she answered with a chuckle. She leaned forward carefully, making sure the blankets remained tucked in place, and reached for the teapot and teacup atop the bed tray. She filled the cup halfway, turned to Sasuke and asked, "Sugar?"

Sasuke shook his head. He always preferred to taste the full strength of the tea's bitter herbs. "I forgot the tea last time," he mentioned offhandedly.

Sakura handed him the tea before pouring another one for herself. She added two cubes of sugar; she had always had a sweet tooth. "You were much too focused on the naked part."

"I'm still focused on the naked part," he admitted shamelessly.

She rolled her eyes. She took a sip of the lukewarm tea, letting the taste loll at the tip of her tongue. "Would you like to go first?"

Sasuke seemed to perk up a bit. He had spent the last week thinking up questions he wanted to ask during their naked hot tea talks. Most of the questions had something to do with feeding his already inflated ego. "What's your favorite thing about me?"

Sakura eyed him warily. "Really? That's your question?"

"I've been told I'm self-absorbed," he said cheekily.

She was torn between being amused and wanting to pour hot tea on his crotch. Instead, she deadpanned, "Your devotion to your family. Despite your strained relationship with your father, you still strive to honor them and make them happy. I admire that."

Sasuke sighed deeply. "Well, I was hoping your answer would be somewhere along the lines of me being extremely shaggable, but I guess that'll do."

Sakura laughed this time. "You're incorrigible."

Sasuke scooted closer to her and kissed her cheek. "Your turn."

Sakura tilted her head to the side in thought before she opened her mouth. "What's your least favorite thing about me?"

The youngest Uchiha groaned. "You always have to ask the hard questions, don't you?"

"I would say your earlier question was much harder," she returned quickly.

Sasuke smirked at her and poked her side. "Touché," he said as he leaned back against the headboard, hair flattening against the hard wood. "I think you work too hard."

"That kind of comes with the territory of being a doctor," she said.

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't mean that. I think you just work too hard at pleasing other people."

She looked at him bemusedly. "Do I?"

He nodded. "I think it's most unfortunate because you should be focusing more on pleasing yourself."

Sakura practically impersonated a tomato. He personally thought she looked delicious, but was not sure if it was her or the idea of tomatoes.

"Get your head out of the gutter," Sasuke said, choking on his tea.

"I never thought you'd ever utter those words to me."

"You're absolutely right, what the hell am I thinking? Keep your mind in the gutter." Sasuke pounced on her, tracing open-mouthed kisses down the column of her throat. His hands gripped the edges of the blanket and tried to pull it down, wanting to feel her soft breasts and pebbled nipples against his skin.

"Sasuke-kun, the tray!" she squealed.

It was too late, however, as his foot caught the bed tray's legs. The ceramic tea set met its demise as it toppled towards the wooden floorboards with a deafening crash.

"Oh no! That was Tsunade-shishou's wedding gift to us! She says she got it during one of her trips to Rain Country and it's one of a kind," she cried, mournfully eyeing the broke pieces of glass on the floor.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "Sakura, they sell that by the dozen at that ceramic store in front of Ichiraku's."

"I should've suspected that especially since I saw a stack of them at her house the other day," she frowned.

"I'll buy you another dozen tomorrow," he said before putting his hand at the back of her head and pushing their lips together.

"You don't give up, do you?" she said, words muffled by his kisses.

"No," he admitted. "By the way, your tits are magnificent."

Sakura didn't have the time to act horrified once Sasuke had tackled her back into the bed.

Sakura tiredly dragged her feet against the linoleum floor. As she had just finished her morning rounds and was walking towards the nurse's station to leave some instructions for her patients, she dropped her clipboard on top of station's counter and leaned heavily against it.

The doctor called over one of the nurses on duty. "Eriko, the patient at 312 can be dismissed today. He'll have to stay off missions though for the next month, that leg needs to heal. I'll send his papers to the Hokage tower. Patient at 308 will need his dosage increased for pain medication. Details are on his file."

"I'm on it, Dr. Haruno," the buxom nurse smiled widely. "Is that all for today?"

"That's all. Just monitor the rest as instructed," Sakura said, returning her smile.

Sakura turned around, anxious to get some lunch in her stomach, only to come face to face with the lone female member of Orochimaru's entourage.

"Good day, Mrs. Uchiha. I was just observing the hospital and saw your bright pink hair from across the ward. I thought I'd come say hello," Karin said, her voice smooth as velvet.

The coquettish redhead donned a tight three-piece purple dress suit. Every line and seam of her outfit seemed designed to direct the eyes towards Karin's enviable curves.

Sakura straightened her spine and looked up cordially at Karin. "How'd you find it?"

"Genius. No wonder Lord Orochimaru insists we pattern all our medical facilities after Konoha's. Then again, all this technology plays second fiddle to the sheer talent of your medic-nins," Karin appraised honestly.

Sakura couldn't help the proud grin on her face. "We do have the great Tsunade guiding us."

"Funny, everyone seems to point to you as their lead," the redhead returned with a smirk.

"Everything I know, I learned from Tsunade," Sakura answered quickly.

"How very modest of you," the Sound-nin answered. Her face turned pensive as she began sniffing the air, drawing closer to Sakura's personal space. "Is that your perfume?"

Sakura surreptitiously smelled herself. "I don't wear any perfume."

"It must be your natural scent then." Karin looked at her dreamily. "Like flowers in spring… it's quite tantalizing." Her lips curled into a sneer before she said, "I bet Sasuke-kun enjoys waking up next to you every morning."

The Konoha medic just smiled awkwardly, unsure on how to respond to such a statement.

Karin took the initiative to fill the lull in the air. "I heard you and your husband will be hosting a welcome ball for the Sound party this coming Friday?"

"Oh yes, you've gotten your invitation already, I hope?" Sakura asked.

Karin nodded, her cat-eye glasses slipping down her nose a bit. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you wearing something fancy. All I've seen you in are these scrubs and lab coats."

Sakura choked on her spit. "Oh god, I haven't thought of what I'm going to wear."

Karin patted Sakura's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll look fabulous in anything you decide to wear. You do have a very…lithe body," she said as she looked up Sakura's form appreciatively. "I can always help you look for something, if you'd like," she offered hopefully.

"No, that's alright. I have a friend who's into these things," Sakura said.

"A woman friend?"

"Yes. She's my best friend," the pinkhead answered readily.

The redhead shrugged. "Well, should things not work out, you can call on me anytime."

"I'll keep that in mind," she answered graciously.

Karin had seemed a bit disappointed at Sakura's non-answer but shook it off with a wiggle of her nose. She saved Sakura from any awkward farewells and said, "I best get going. I still have the civilian section of the hospital to observe." She leaned forward, closing in on Sakura's personal space once more, and kissed both of the Konoha kunoichi's cheeks.

Sakura simply concluded that it must be a Sound custom and tried not to act so violated. "I'll see you soon, Karin-san."

Sakura chewed on her celery stick unhappily; the green leaf left a bad taste in her mouth. Having always considered herself a meat girl, Sakura would have probably given up her soul for thick slice of steak at the moment.

"Ino, can I please eat something that has dead animals in it?"

"No!" Ino cried indignantly, flailing her hands sideways and almost hitting Sakura's nose. "The ball is two days away and you have to lose three pounds if you're going to fit in the dress we've reserved for you."

Sakura wondered how she, a celebrated Konoha kunoichi, could easily be bullied by this woman whose last known mission was to edit the Mizukage's wardrobe. Sakura changed her mind about Ino being made of magic; the woman was made of witchcraft. "But I'm hungry!"

"Hunger is for the poor!"

Sakura stared at Ino with disbelief. "Every word that comes out of your mouth makes you one step closer to becoming a sociopath."

"And you're still not getting steak," Ino answered with a smug smirk.

Sakura huffed and dumped her celery stick back inside her bento box. She would rather starve than eat anymore of those evil vegetables. "Actually, Ino, I asked you to lunch because I wanted to consult with you about something."

They were once again on the training grounds, this time occupying a long concrete bench at the edge of the green field.

"Consult away!" Ino said graciously.

"I was hoping we could talk alone," Sakura said.

"Go ahead."

"Your husband is sitting right next to you."

Ino snapped her head to her right as if she'd only just realized that her husband was sitting beside her. Shikamaru had both hands supporting the back of his head as he stared up at the clouds. She turned to Sakura once more with another one of her dazzling smiles. "Sakura, he's not going to blab to anyone. He's much too lazy for that."

Sakura eyed Shikamaru warily, but ultimately decided that he could be trusted—if only because Ino would kill him before he could spill any of Sakura's secrets. As much of a blabbermouth Ino was, she would never betray Sakura's trust. "This can't get out beyond the three of us," she started.

The blond nodded sagely. "Of course."

"And you can't ask any questions," Sakura continued.

Ino seemed a bit more miffed at this request but conceded. "Just spill, Forehead."

Sakura took a deep breath to prepare herself. She slipped a hand inside her coat and fingered the cool metal residing deep within her pockets. "I've tried to do research myself, but I haven't come up with anything conclusive. You're the only person I know I can trust who might know a thing or two about this." She brought out her fisted hand and placed it on her lap. "Do you think you can tell me anything about this ring?"

Ino let out a blood-curdling scream as if she was possessed. "My god, what an ugly piece of jewelry!"

Sakura clamped her hand over Ino's mouth. "That wasn't exactly what I was looking for," she said through gritted teeth. She looked apologetically to the other ninjas at the training ground who were now giving them not-so-friendly looks after having been terrorized by Ino's dramatics.

Ino ripped Sakura's hand away from her mouth. "Fine, hand that to me." Sakura dropped the ring in her open hand. "Ew."

The blond studied the ring for a moment before she closed her eyes and enveloped it with her fingers. Ino hummed softly, feeling out the texture and aura of the small band.

"I've never actually seen one of this before, but I'm pretty sure I know of it," Ino started. "It looks cheap but it's actually made of a rare precious metal, which automatically makes it expensive." She turned to Sakura excitedly. "We could have it melted and reshaped into a nice little pendant for you!"

Sakura placed a hand on Ino's thigh. "Focus, Ino. You were telling me about the metal."

"Oh, right." Ino looked to the ring once more. "What actually makes it so special is that it negates chakra, meaning that it can't be destroyed by any chakra-induced attacks."

"So that means a civilian can use it to ward off any shinobi assault?" Sakura asked.

"In theory, yes. However, it's practically powerless with a minimal amount such as this. A civilian would have to wear a full armor made of this metal to be of any use, and even then, the metal itself would already be too heavy. If they were to actually try to wear such armor, they wouldn't be able to move," Ino answered.

"Give me that thing," Shikamaru interjected suddenly. Ino obediently handed the ring to her husband.

His pineapple shaped head peered closely into the ring, scrutinizing the emblem his wife had earlier deemed ugly. "You might wanna take note of this symbol right here, Sakura. It's much too intricate to be any random design. I'd say it's some sort of insignia or even a family crest."

Sakura nodded. "I thought as much, but I've never seen anything close to it before."

"Well you're not going to find that here. Your best bet is Sound," Ino said.

Sakura stared at her confusedly. "Sound?"

"This metal can only be found in small mining ground in Sound. Did I not mention that?"

"No."

"Oh well, now you know."

Sakura had tuned out the rest of the world at this point. What little clarity Ino had shed over the ring's origins had only brought up a million other questions. Sayuri had not been a ninja, had never mingled with ninjas, and had never even stepped outside of Konoha. A million scenarios ran through her head of how Sayuri could've come in possession of such a ring—a ring that came from a country notorious for its antagonism toward civilians. Each scenario seemed as unlikely as the next. And then she thought of Patrice. Could Sasuke have given the ring to her? And if so, could he have…Sakura shook her head, she would not let her mind go down that path. Her husband was a million things but he had always been honorable.

"Sakura," Ino's soft, motherly voice filtered through her foggy brain. "If you're in any trouble you would tell me, right? I'll always help you anyway I can."

"Of course, Ino. I promise."

It would be the only promise to Ino that Sakura would break.

Sasuke was startled into wakefulness by his wife's suffering moans. She slept fitfully beside him, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face as she muttered incomprehensible words. He leaned towards her and shook her gently.

"Sakura," he whispered lowly, not wanting to aggravate her senses. "Wake up, darling."

Green eyes and pink lips opened with a loud gasp. "Oh god."

"You were having a bad dream," he said, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of his hand.

"It was just a dream," she said, seemingly to herself. Sakura's hand reached up to touch his face, as if to prove that he was real. "Just a dream," she muttered once more.

He kissed her forehead affectionately. "You kept repeating someone's name."

Sakura breathed deeply and tried to relax her frazzled nerves. "I haven't had that dream in a long time."

"What was it?"

"It was my sister. She was crying and I couldn't reach her," she said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

In their short marriage, Sakura had never once mentioned her sister, not even her name. She would talk about her parents, share little anecdotes she had about their married life, but never about Sayuri. It bothered him a lot; he just knew that she was keeping something important from him.

Sakura shook her head. "Can you just stay up with me for a bit?"

Sasuke nodded and Sakura did not resist when he scooped her up in his arms; she seemed content to be cocooned in his warmth.

They stayed up until the first light of dawn.

"What do you know, our kunoichis clean up nicely," Naruto announced as he eyed the gaggle of women littered around the spacious sitting room of Sasuke and Sakura's home. They had traded their kunais and unflattering uniforms for evening dresses that cinched at the waist and accentuated their busts.

It was rare for Naruto to show up at these types of social functions, even if he was always invited. After all, he was the Yondaime's son. But Naruto knew that most of the elites still thought of him as the Kyuubi container, regardless of the fact that he had saved their country from outside attacks countless times. He never tried to sway their opinion of him, as they didn't really matter to him, anyway. The only reason he'd shown up for this thing, of course, was because it was an event held by his two best friends.

"I'm glad to see you're enjoying yourself," Sasuke deadpanned. His mouth was hidden behind a goblet of wine; alcohol was the only way the Uchiha could get through these things.

"Damn right, I am!" Naruto exclaimed with a fist pump. "Woah, is that Hinata-chan?"

Sasuke followed his blonde friend's line of vision and was met with the sight of the Hyuuga heiress. The girl's usual shyness was so severe that it often inhibited her ability to function socially, much to her father's displeasure. Regardless, she was very well-dressed today in a lavender ball gown. Not that Sasuke expected any less from the prideful clan.

"When we were genin, I used to think she was a boy," Sasuke said offhandedly. He'd had his fifth glass of wine.

Naruto stared at him with wide eyes. "Even with those knockers?" he asked incredulously, cupping his hands in front of his chest, just in case Sasuke didn't get what knockers were.

Sasuke clapped Naruto's back. "And here I was wondering why you can't get any woman to marry you."

Naruto snorted. "You should talk; you can't even get your own wife to have sex with you."

"I told you never to repeat that!"

Naruto waved a hand in front of his face. "Eh, teme, it's just the two of us here!"

As if on cue, Kakashi appeared behind them. "What's this, Sasuke? You and Sakura have not had sex?"

Sasuke downed the rest of his drink.

"If I may be allowed a suggestion," Kakashi started, two fingers rising up to adjust the mask on his face. "She might be more inclined to welcome you to her bed should you bring her to orgasm."

"I am not having this conversation with you."

Kakashi patted Sasuke's head as if he were a small child. "I am just trying to help a former student."

Before Sasuke could answer, Naruto grabbed his attention once more. "Hey, who's that guy trying to get fresh with Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke looked to the man Naruto was rudely pointing at. He recognized the figure dancing with Sakura immediately as one of Orochimaru's prized protégés... And it appeared he was getting a bit handsy with Sasuke's wife while Sakura was straining hard not to knock him unconscious.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Sasuke announced as he haphazardly placed his wine glass on a table behind them, "I think it's high time I dance with my wife."

Kakashi brightened as a proverbial light bulb lit up above his head. "Genius! You will come to her rescue like a cavalier prince, and she will no doubt desire you."

"Shut up."

Sakura looked around her home's crowded living area. With Yuka's help, they had been able to give it a semblance of an actual ballroom. She and Sasuke never really used this space, preferring to receive friends (namely Naruto and Ino) and family in the home office or kitchen. The crystal chandelier had probably seen better days, but it did serve its purpose, giving the room a candle-lit quality. The two coffee tables and sofa set had been taken to the attic for the meantime in order to create a makeshift dance floor.

Sakura recognized some familiar faces, including a few ninjas with whom she had attended the academy as a child, and others she knew from mere reputation. But everywhere Sakura turned there were also some unfamiliar guests—Ninjas from Sound, she had concluded. She gripped the fabric of her skirt in her hands, twisting it enough to wrinkle the gossamer fabric. She couldn't help but wonder if any of these individuals enjoying the ball could have been related to Sayuri's death in any way.

"So you're the new Mrs. Uchiha."

Sakura turned around to be greeted by a man with silver hair and shark-like teeth grinning widely at her. She forced herself to smile at him. "I don't believe we've met."

"Suigetsu Hozuki," he said with a roguish wink.

Sakura gave him a shallow bow of her head. "Hozuki-san. I assume you are with Lord Orochimaru's party."

He nodded. "You can call me Sui. Most of the girls do."

"While I appreciate the offer," Sakura said as politely as she could, her smile tightening imperceptibly as she reminded herself that she was the hostess. "I'm not a girl who feels comfortable with such familiarity, so we can settle with Hozuki-san."

"Feisty."

Sakura resisted rolling her eyes, and instead offered her guest a strain smile. She had very deep issues with the word 'feisty,' especially when it was attributed to females who, god forbid, could articulate their own defenses. It was stupid.

"Well, Mrs. Uchiha, would you mind giving me the honor of a dance?"

She would actually, but as she did not want to cause a scene or inadvertently offend her husband's colleague, she acquiesced. She took Suigetsu's proffered hand and let him lead her away to where other couples were already spinning fluidly across the floor.

Suigetsu placed his hand on her lower back, much too casually for her taste, and guided her hand toward his shoulder. He took the lead for a simple waltz step around the room in time with the music.

"Sasuke did always have good taste in women," he said while studying her face. "Although I personally think you're an improvement from the last one."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "The last one?"

"His last wife, Patrice," he said.

Sakura didn't miss how casually he had referred to the former Uchiha matriarch's name. "You've met her?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"A couple of years back when I spent a year training in Konoha," he said, hand traveling lower down her back.

Sakura's heart started beating wildly. "Is that so?"

"She was very friendly," Suigetsu continued, drawing closer to her and eliminating the space between them. His smile was lecherous as he whispered his next words in her ear. "Are you just as friendly?"

Sakura prepared to slap him, immediately recognizing his suggestive statement, when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She had never been more relieved to see her husband's face.

Sasuke glared at Suigetsu murderously, but his tone remained placid as he spoke. "Suigetsu, I'm going to cut in," he announced, not bothering to phrase it as a question; it was never in his nature to ask permission, after all, and especially to those he perceived as beneath him.

Suigetsu raised both hands appeasingly, as if he had meant no harm. "All yours, man," he pacified, walking backwards. "I'll see you around, Mrs. Uchiha."

Sasuke took Sakura's arms in the traditional dancing position and they moved around the floor with minimal steps.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I could've handled that," she said smugly.

"Hn, that's why you looked like you were going to pulverize him back there," he teased.

"He has quite a mouth on him," Sakura said with a pout.

Sasuke chuckled. "Suigetsu fancies himself a debonair, but he's harmless."

Sakura wondered just how much Sasuke knew about Suigetsu. It didn't seem like he had any hard feelings for the Sound ninja at all. She decided to keep mum about it for the meantime, not wanting to upset her husband. "I do resent the fact that you only danced with me to shoo him away."

"I've never been one for dancing," he answered.

Sakura shrugged. "Neither have I, actually."

"Then what are we doing here, punishing ourselves?" he asked with a smirk. And with that he took Sakura's hand and pulled her away from the dance floor.

Sakura had expected him to lead them back to where Naruto and Kakashi were standing, but instead she found themselves exiting the living area entirely. Sasuke led her past the dining room and the bustling kitchen and out to the patio overlooking the lake in the Uchiha's backyard.

"Is it a good idea to leave our guests alone?" she asked as Sasuke pulled her into a hug.

"They're all grown-ups, so I'm sure they can survive a couple of minutes on their own," he argued before fitting his lips over hers.

The intoxicating taste of wine ran over her tongue as Sasuke kissed her heatedly. He nibbled her lips and sampled her mouth as if he couldn't get enough of her. His hands were restless as they sought purchase of her body, running down her back and gripping her bottom before squeezing between their bodies to massage her breasts. She could feel his erection even through the voluminous skirt of her gown as he pushed their hips together.

"You're drunk, Sasuke-kun," she whimpered out as he paid attention to her neck, sliding a hand over her bum as the other attempted to slip inside the top of her dress.

She was used to his amorous attentions in the privacy of their bedroom but she had been with him long enough to know that the proud Uchiha held himself back when there were other people around. A fully sober Sasuke would never try to dry hump her when there was even the remote possibility that other people may witness it; he would find it too barbaric.

"Just a little tipsy," he confessed as he trailed kisses over her exposed cleavage.

Sakura forced his head away from breasts and looked him in the eye. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Five or six glasses," he said, his smile singing of debauchery, before he pulled the pins out of her hair.

"Lightweight," she joshed. "Why'd you drink so much anyway?"

Sasuke sighed in an uncharacteristically boyish manner. "I hate these things. Alcohol makes it tolerable."

"Then why'd you offer to host a ball in the first place?" she asked incredulously.

"Appearances," he slurred. "And besides, Orochimaru is my mentor. I want him to have a good time while he's here and he seems to enjoy these things."

"We'll have to go back inside. It's almost midnight and I'm sure our guests will be leaving soon. Besides I'll have to fix my hair, Ino's going to kill you," Sakura admonished.

"She can't kill me. I have Chidori."

"Oh god, you're really drunk," Sakura said fretfully. "Let's get you to the kitchen and get some coffee in you first."

The word 'coffee' seemed to sober him up a bit. He shook his head to drive the hazy feeling away, but it turned out to be a worse idea as it only made him painfully dizzy. "Ouch."

Sakura clucked her tongue. "Come on, you lightweight."

Sasuke leaned heavily against Sakura's petite form as they made their way back to the kitchen. She guided Sasuke to sit on a stool by the kitchen counter and asked one of the servers to prepare a pot for her husband.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm just going to use the powder room. I'll come back for you in a minute," she told him.

He just grunted in reply.

Sakura managed to avoid all of their guests as she made her way toward the lavatory near the staircase. She opened the door, thanking the heavens that she was home free, only to discover that the room was already occupied.

"I'm sorry, I'll go after you," she said with a bow.

Karin stared at her through the reflection in the mirror. "Nonsense, there's space enough here for the two of us."

Sakura seemed unconvinced.

"I can help you put your hair up again, I'm quite good at it," Karin said with a sultry smile.

Sakura was still wary of the Sound kunoichi, but she really did need help fixing Sasuke's mess. Hair was just not her forte.

Karin moved to the side to make space for her as Sakura locked the door behind her.

The redhead immediately began to work on Sakura's fallen strands, expertly manipulating her locks and pinning them on her head in intricate swirls.

"He's quite frisky, isn't he?" Karin commented with a soft smile.

"Hm?" Sakura said, feigning innocence.

"I saw you two sneak out earlier, and by the look on his face I knew he had something very naughty planned for you," Karin pushed knowingly. "Although from when I knew him, he had never been so impatient."

"Really," Sakura muttered, more for a lack of anything to say.

Karin put the finishing touches in Sakura's hair, stepping back to admire her work. "I hope it doesn't bother you that your husband and I had a past. After all, it never meant anything to either of us. We were just a couple of stupid teenagers."

Sakura held her hands together to keep them from shaking. "Of course. That was then and this is now."

"I'm glad to hear that." Karin paused and regarded her thoughtfully. "I was afraid you might be deeply affected by the impending publishing of my book."

Sakura blinked up stupidly at her. "Book?"

Karin smiled again. "A book of my memoirs. It seems that a lot of people are very interested in my past affairs, so I might as well make money off it." She bit her lower lip. "It would include some letters that Sasuke-kun had written to me while he lived in Sound. Of course, they would remain anonymous… but a smart woman like you would put two and two together easily."

Sakura felt her heart drop down to her stomach. Letters? Bloody letters? With an s? She thought it hadn't "meant anything."

Karin removed an emerald clip from her hair and stepped toward Sakura, carefully placing it between the pink bun on her head. "It matches your eyes," she said simply.

Karin then moved toward the door, leaving a stunned Sakura facing the mirror. Before exiting the room, she turned, briefly, and said, "You're much too good for him, you know?"

That didn't exactly make Sakura feel any better.

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Sakura writes letters of her own and continues to play detective. Sasuke and Naruto discuss their stilted love affair. Karin continues to be a complete stalker. Suigetsu creeps. Ino insults everyone.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Plot elements borrow heavily from Amanda Quick's "Seduction".
> 
> Author's Notes: So this took a bit longer than usual. I had a bit of trouble with some scenes. Hopefully it turned out alright. 
> 
> Also, thank you to TheEyesofTheTiger once more for her awesome and thoughtful beta skills! And also to obsessed dreamer for suffering through my plot wibbles. I'm sorry bb for spoiling you!

Seduction

Chapter Nine

On Monday afternoon, right after her shift at the hospital, Sakura found herself inside a charming little teahouse that served the tastiest little biscuits. She only hoped the owners would not throw them out because one of her companions apparently never learned the art of voice modulation.

"Blech! That tastes like piss!" Ino complained loudly as she dropped her teacup on the table with a clang.

Sakura arched an eyebrow. "How would you even know what piss tastes like?"

"Well, there was this one time with Shika-kun-"

"Please don't answer that."

Tsunade interrupted Sakura and Ino's little side conversation with a loud cough. She lifted her teacup to her lips, her hands shaking uncontrollably all the while. She was probably having withdrawal symptoms, Sakura thought. It had been fifteen minutes since they'd entered the establishment, and there wasn't a chance that served any alcohol. Tsunade would've gladly settled for isopropyl alcohol, but they didn't have that either.

"Yamanaka, just tell us why the hell you called us here so we can get the hell out of this little hellhole," the Sannin said gruffly.

Tenten, who was sitting on the couch opposite Sakura, quickly echoed her sentiment. "Yes, please. Neji-kun is waiting for me."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Seriously, can't you survive five minutes without talking about your precious Neji-kun? I don't know what you see in him, underneath all that hair, he looks like a fetus."

Hinata, who was sitting beside Tenten, closed her pale eyes for a moment and then muttered shyly, "I can see it."

Sakura spoke up before Tenten could start yelling at them for insulting her betrothed. "Ino, just tell us why we're here. You said you had something important to say."

"Are we starting a gang?"

"No, we're not starting a gang, Hinata," Ino said with a cluck of her tongue. Hinata cowered. "The reason I called you all here is because as friends of Sakura we must do everything we can to eliminate the imminent threat to her marriage."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked confusedly.

"That bitch Karin is releasing a book of her supposed memoirs including details of her supposed affair with your husband. Now why would she time that just when she'd finally met you, Sakura? Obviously she's trying to get to you so she could move in and steal your husband!" Ino said with her arms flailing wildly.

Tsunade stared at Ino with dead eyes. "I'm too old and sober for this." And without preamble, she stood up and left the teahouse, probably to head to the bar next door.

Sakura stared jealously at Tsunade's back before turning to Ino. "Okay, firstly, you can't steal a husband. They're not like…tables," she finished lamely, gesturing to the first object her eyes found.

Tenten tilted her head to the side. "Why would you steal a table? That doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe the table is made of gold," Hinata suggested meekly.

"It sounds a bit gaudy to have a table made entirely of gold," Ino said thoughtfully.

"Okay, enough about the table!" Sakura snapped. "My point is, Sasuke is not a mindless drone who is incapable of making his own decisions, and I trust him to honor his vows. He hasn't given me any reason to mistrust him and to be honest, Karin doesn't seem like she's interested in him at all; she barely speaks a word to him."

"Ahh, see! She's already got you acting very complacent, thinking she's harmless and then bam! Uchiha's spread-eagled on her kitchen counter!"

"You do realize you're insane?"

"Insane people are never aware that they are."

"My point exactly."

Hinata and Tenten sat prettily from their corner of the small booth while they munched on their biscuits and sipped their tea.

"It's like watching a play," Hinata said, looking mildly entertained.

Tenten grimaced. "A play with very sad and irritating characters."

"Listen, ladies," Sakura said, addressing the three women at the table, "I'm really sorry that you all got dragged down here for this. I do appreciate the concern but this really isn't something you should worry about." She pulled out some bills from her pocket and put it on the table next to her teacup. "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to cut this short, since I have other errands to take care of."

Sakura said her goodbyes and ignored Ino's protests before she headed out the door.

They did bother her though. The letters, that is. Just not the way they had bothered Ino. Her mother had always told her that husbands cannot be stolen… unless they were willing. And Sasuke had certainly never expressed any outward interest in Karin. If anything, her very presence seemed to irritate him, and Sakura always got the feeling that he wanted to get rid of the redhead whenever she was around the house, visiting Sakura.

What bothered her most about the letters was when they were written. Sasuke had only been sixteen when he first traveled to Sound to train under Orochimaru, and he had lived there for better part of two years, so that must've been when he had first met Karin. She had no idea how long it had lasted or how far their relationship had gotten, as she never asked and never tried to find out. She didn't want to know what he had been doing with Karin while she was alone in Konoha and still so in love with him…

She shook her head and willed away the dark thoughts in her head. That was all in the past and it should stay in the past. Whatever happened with him and Karin was none of her concern and she shouldn't let it bleed into her marriage with Sasuke. But if the letters were to be released…she fisted her hands and dug her nails deep into her palms, she wouldn't think about that anymore, she had more important things to focus on.

Sakura stopped in front of a rather decrepit looking shack in the Northern part of Konoha. It was actually a rather well known pub that shinobis frequented after a hard mission. They were famous for drafting their own beer and serving grilled frog legs. Sakura shuddered at the thought.

She had never been inside the establishment before but had heard of it from Naruto and Kakashi. As far as she knew, they had dragged Sasuke down there once or twice, but he'd never enter of his own volition. He had mentioned something about his supposedly clean glass having fingerprints on it the last time he was in there. What a nance.

Sakura wasn't there to have a beer or sample some frog legs, though. She had created a bunshin early in the morning and had it follow her target for the rest of the day. She waited patiently until the man was somewhere public where she could casually run into him without him suspecting anything.

Sakura made sure that everyone inside the pub was aware of her entrance, pushing the door all the way and lingering by the entrance, her neck extending as she made a show of looking for an empty spot.

"Mrs. Uchiha! Fancy seeing you here!"

Sakura turned her gaze towards a single table by the window. Suigetsu Hozuki was holding a half empty glass of beer in one hand while the other waved her over lazily. She made her way towards him and took the empty seat on the other side of the table.

"Never pegged you to be the type to come to a place like this," Suigetsu said as he looked around the rather rambunctious patrons in the pub.

Sakura shook her head. "I don't usually come in here. It's just been a stressful day at work and I figured I could use a drink," she lied.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her before hollering for the waiter to order a round for them.

"After our last meeting, I didn't think I would see you again," he said.

Sakura just shrugged. Right now, she had no idea what to say. She was starting to think that the plan was a little ill conceived. She had no interrogation skills whatsoever but knew better than to ask straight out, "Hey, did you happen to impregnate my sister and give her this ring while you were screwing around with the other Mrs. Uchiha?"

She was grasping at straws, she knew. But all she had were two identical rings and the knowledge that it had come from Sound. Patrice was known for her indiscretions, but as far as the rumor mill was concerned, all of her extra-marital affairs had been with civilians. If she had been right in reading into Suigetsu's insinuation that he had an affair with Patrice, he could very well be responsible for those rings.

"Konoha's changed a lot since the last time I was here," Suigetsu said, breaking the awkward silence between them.

"How so?"

"A lot more civilians have moved in and there are more places to have a drink," he answered as he raised his glass in the air for a toast.

Sakura indulged him and clinked her own glass with his. "How long has it been since you were last here anyway?"

"About three years ago," he said.

Sakura nodded. "Did you know Sasuke's previous wife well?"

Suigetsu dropped his glass on the table and narrowed his eyes at her. "Why do you ask?"

Sakura tried to control the shake in her hands as she ran her fingers through her hair gracelessly. "It's just that Sasuke never talks about her. I suppose I'm just curious," she said quickly before taking a sip of her bitter beer, hiding her eyes under her fringe.

The Sound nin eyed her peculiarly, his dry lips pressing together. "She used to complain about how Sasuke was a rotten husband and she would seek my company which I gladly gave her."

"Just company?"

"Should there be more, Mrs. Uchiha?"

Sakura held her breath, a stiff smile on her face. "Just asking." It was official; she failed at interrogation. "Would you look at the time?" she said, looking at the non-existent watch on her wrist. "Sasuke was expecting me home hours ago, I should get going."

Suigetsu's stared at her openly, observing every single movement she made with inquisitive eyes. "I'll see you around, Mrs. Uchiha."

Naruto threw down the kunai in his hand, the sharp end piercing the ground. He was worked up for all the wrong reasons. He had been looking forward to an intense training session with Sasuke, they hadn't had one since he and Sakura got engaged, but he might as well have been training with a sack of potatoes. "Dude, if I'd been using even a tenth of my chakra, I'd have killed you thirty times over by now!"

Sasuke grunted and ignored him as he walked towards the spot where he had put down his pack earlier. He brought out a canteen of water and drank heavy gulps.

"Oh, so you're just going to sit there and pretend I'm not here? Is that how it is now, teme? We rarely spend time with each other nowadays and when we do you completely ignore me!" Naruto wailed childishly.

The dark haired Uchiha eyed him with disdain. "Can you stop talking like that? This is the reason people think we're gay."

Naruto huffed begrudgingly. He stomped over to where Sasuke was now sitting on his ass and plopped down beside him. "What's wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me. I just don't feel like training today," Sasuke answered gruffly.

"Did you hear what you just said?"

Sasuke ignored him, focusing instead on the endless horizon. He hated to admit it, but he had been distracted the entire time. All he could think about was Sakura. Ever since the ball, she seemed rather distant. He didn't think he was the sort of man who needed to cling constantly but it bothered him the way she had been constantly avoiding spending any alone time with him. It reminded him too much of the way Patrice would act whenever she had another man to occupy her bed.

He took another gulp of water as if it would wash away those dark thoughts. Sakura was not Patrice; Sakura couldn't be any more different from her. But he was the same man, wasn't he? The traitorous voice in his head taunted him, perhaps it was you; no woman could stand to be around you. Wasn't Patrice a perfect angel when you had married her? Innocent and wide-eyed, and yet by the time of her death she had become a treacherous, vindictive and bitter shell of a woman. His lips curled into a sneer. That would not happen to Sakura, he would not let it. He had promised himself when he had married her that he would do everything right this time.

Sakura was too precious to him.

"Man, stop growling, you're starting to scare me," Naruto mumbled, interrupting his thoughts. His mouth was stuffed with ramen noodles.

"Where the hell did you get ramen?"

"I ran to Ichiraku's while you were brooding. From experience that tends to take a while," he answered with a shrug.

"And you didn't even think to get some for me?"

"I'm not your boyfriend, get ramen yourself."

Sasuke knocked him unconscious and then stole his ramen. Brooding made him hungry.

Nana Haruno had the cake ready by the time Sakura had arrived. She made her special double layer devil's chocolate cake; it had been Sayuri's favorite. Sakura's mother would always make it on her daughter's birthdays and when she died, Nana Haruno took over that job.

Two candles had been lit atop the cake by the time Sakura had walked in to the kitchen.

"Nana," she greeted with a smile. She walked up to her grandmother and kissed her cheek before taking the seat next to her.

"I thought you were going to forget," her grandmother said, a sad smile on her face.

"Never," Sakura said surely.

Sakura looked towards the cake, she didn't need to read the fancy letters written with white frosting to know what it said.

"Happy Birthday, Sayuri," Sakura said solemnly.

Nana Haruno rubbed her granddaughter's back as Sakura leaned her head against her grandmother's soft shoulder.

"Should we blow out Sayuri's candles for her?" the elder Haruno asked.

"You have the honors this year, Nana," Sakura said.

Nana Haruno puffed her droopy cheeks and blew out her rounded lips. They watched the fire extinguish, leaving but an orange glow at the tip of the candlewick before it slowly faded away.

Every year on Sayuri's birthday, Sakura and her grandmother would come together to celebrate it just as they did when her younger sister was still alive. Her grandfather never joined them, but Sakura knew that he just had a different way of grieving. She knew all too well that Grandpa Haruno would lock himself in his room on this very day each year, weeping for his youngest grandchild.

"Do you think she's happy where she is, Nana?"

"She has to be."

The elder Haruno wiped away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. "It isn't fair. It's such a cruel punishment to have to bury my own son and then Sayuri, my beautiful, beautiful granddaughter, not long after. Your father must be very angry with me for not taking care of you girls better."

Sakura stood up and wrapped her arms around her grandmother's shoulder, burying her head in her hair. "Don't say that, Nana. You took really good care of us. I don't know where I'd be without you."

"Oh, Sakura, my only hope is that you live a happy and full life. Tell me, is Sasuke kind to you?" she asked hopefully as she looked up her granddaughter's face.

"Sasuke's a good husband," she answered.

"I'm glad to hear that," Nana Haruno said. She'd die happy if she knew someone was taking good care of her Sakura . "Why didn't you bring Sasuke?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, this is just between us."

"It can't be healthy, Sakura, keeping everything in here," Nana Haruno said, rubbing the spot right above Sakura's heart.

"Sayuri isn't his burden to carry, Nana. I've already asked too much of him… I can't ask for more."

Sakura walked inside the bedroom just in time to see Sasuke walking out of the en suite bathroom. He was wearing a pair of tight blue boxer briefs, his preferred wardrobe for sleeping. She could smell the fresh scent of soap around him, and she was thankful that she ended up with a husband who liked to shower before bed. At least she wouldn't have to sleep beside a smelly man.

"You just got back now?" he asked as he dropped his used towel into the open hamper by the bathroom door.

Sakura nodded. "I was out with the girls."

"Ino?"

Truthfully, Sasuke had no idea who Sakura's female friends were. Ino was the only one she ever mentioned.

Sakura sat by the bed to untie the laces on her shoes. "She was there," she answered.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. He leaned a hand against the bedpost and looked at her pointedly. "I saw her earlier grabbing dinner with Shikamaru at Ichiraku's. That was over two hours ago."

Sakura paused her movement, a shoelace dangling between her fingers. "Oh? Well good for her. I told her she should eat more; she's getting a little bony," Sakura said casually as she proceeded to remove her shoes.

"So if Ino was with Shikamaru, where did you get dinner?"

"I'm sorry, am I under some sort of investigation?" she asked sardonically.

"I was merely making sure that my wife didn't miss a meal," he answered without missing a beat.

"If you must know, I was at the cemetery," Sakura answered with a straight face. It hadn't been a complete lie; she did go to visit her family's graves. She just failed to tell him what she was doing before that. "You may be my husband, but that doesn't mean I have to report my every movement to you. I am your wife, not your prisoner."

Her words made him balk. "Sakura, what are you even talking about? That's not what I meant. Tell me, have I ever done anything to make you think I was trying to control you?"

Sakura stared at him unblinkingly before she sighed and moved off the bed. "It's been a long day." She headed for the closet they shared and pulled out a nightgown before turning towards the bathroom. Sasuke halted her movement with a hand on her arm, her nightgown falling soundlessly to the floor.

She turned back to look at him with undisguised irritation.

"Do we have a problem, Sakura?"

"You tell me."

Sasuke gripped her arm tighter as he maneuvered her to face him. His eyes narrowed into slits and his voice had a deeper timbre than usual. "Don't be a child about this, Sakura. You pull away when I try to hold you. When I try to kiss you, you turn your cheek, and on the occasion that you actually do speak to me, you snap. Now tell me, do we have a problem?"

Sakura huffed as she pulled her arm away forcefully, his fingers leaving red marks in their wake.

"We promised we'd work on this marriage together," Sasuke said, a desperate tinge in his voice. "If there is a problem, you're going to have to tell me so we can fix it."

Sakura felt her defenses fall at his words. She'd been acting like a spoiled child, as much as she didn't want to admit it, she had foolishly been expecting him to possess some magical psychic power that would let him read her thoughts. She hadn't wanted to raise the issue, and not talking about it made it seem less real. But by keeping it all inside, she was only creating a chasm between them. She made him promise her that they would strive to make their marriage grow, and yet, here she was… breaking it at the slightest hint of a provocation.

Sakura worried her bottom lip, and tried to hold back the resentment in her heart as she asked him the one question that had been burning in her mind for the past three days. "What were in those letters?"

Sasuke looked utterly confused. "What letters?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't tell me you don't know?"

"I wouldn't be asking you if I knew, would I?" he said, unable to bite back the sarcasm.

"Your letters to Karin! The one she intends to publish in her memoirs!"

"Oh, those letters."

Sakura's ears heated up, her temper rising, as Sasuke began chuckling rambunctiously in her face. "What is so funny about this?"

Sasuke controlled his laughter but couldn't suppress the wide grin on his face. "I just thought this was actually going to be about something serious."

She glared at him, her green eyes darkening a shade. "Oh, so you don't think it's a problem that one of your former lovers is publishing the love letters you once wrote her so tirelessly!"

He clucked his tongue as he sat at the edge of their bed. "They weren't love letters, Sakura. Everyone thinks we had this grandiose love affair while I was in Sound when it couldn't have been further from the truth."

"Then tell me what they were about."

Sasuke shook his head. "I was sixteen, Sakura. I had just discovered I actually had a libido, but this revelation only hit once I was on constant lockdown in Sound. Orochimaru never me let me out of his sight, and I trained every single day from sun up and long past sun down. Those letters were just… an outlet."

Sakura's face reddened. "Do you mean to tell me…"

At this point Sasuke was unsure if he wanted to continue this conversation. "There was nothing 'loving' about those letters." He watched her lips curl downwards as she absorbed the meaning of his words. "I saw her maybe twice or thrice outside of Orochimaru's lair, but nothing ever happened between us beyond a few awkward, clumsy kisses. I was sixteen and an idiot, Sakura. I didn't know what I was thinking. Please don't hate me for bad decisions I made in the past."

She swallowed the heaviness in her throat. "Why her?"

Sasuke groaned and buried his face in his hands. "She was safe."

Sakura looked at him pointedly, wordlessly urging him to continue.

"She wasn't anyone I would ever truly care for. I could use her without feeling guilty. I know it makes me sound like an utter asshole, but that's what it was," he said steadily.

He waited with abated breath as she stewed over her thoughts, her teeth chewing her bottom lip until the skin threatened to break. Sakura walked up to him, stopping when her knees hit his legs.

"You can't let her publish those letters," she said lowly.

Sasuke placed his hands on her hips and buried his head in the valley of her breasts. "I thought we had already talked about this? Those letters don't mean anything," he mumbled against the cotton cloth of her shirt.

Sakura gripped the back of his head by the hair and pulled none too gently to make him face her. "How do you think it makes me feel to have my husband's raunchy letters to another woman immortalized in a book? You have to tell her not to release them."

He scowled at her. "And give her the satisfaction of knowing that her silly games could affect me or our marriage?" He stood up and loomed over her, hands trailing up her sides until he could cradle her face in his hands. "Karin is a cunning and ruthless woman. I don't know what she's told you or what she's planning, but I know she's trying to get between us. Don't let her."

Sakura took a step back, making him relinquish his hold on her. "You are such a prick, Sasuke! Don't you even care how this is affecting me?"

"It shouldn't affect you! You're my wife, the woman I married; the one I vowed my eternal loyalty to. Nothing, no woman, man or anything should make you feel any less than that!"

"You don't understand!"

"Then explain it to me!"

But instead she stomped her foot on the ground, grabbed her nightgown on the floor, and entered the bathroom, banging the door loudly behind her. There were some things that she simply didn't want to say out loud; it hurt too much.

Sasuke pleaded for her to come out, but they fell on deaf ears. When she had finally ran out of things to do inside the bathroom (she could only clean her ears so many times), she headed straight for their bed and faced away from Sasuke. When he tried to cuddle with her, she kicked him in the shin.

Ino told her she looked like a panda bear when Sakura showed up for work the next day. She'd barely slept; she missed the warmth Sasuke emitted when he was spooned against her. She couldn't exactly blame him for that, though. He tried several times throughout the night to cuddle with her but she kept kicking him. He finally got the clue sometime around midnight and settled with hugging a pillow.

In the morning, she forced herself out of bed extra early so she wouldn't have to wake up to his face. The rational part of her (the part that was still clamoring at the edges of her brain) knew she shouldn't resent Sasuke for anything. He never really did anything to her. And it would be immature to take things that did not involve her personally.

It wasn't so much about the letters, if she were to be completely honest with herself. It was what they reminded her of. A time she would rather forget, a time she wished she could go back to change. But she knew it was impossible, all she could do was live with her regrets.

"Sakura, darling, over here!"

Sakura whipped her head around, searching for who had called her name. Her eyes landed on the redhead she had been fighting about with her husband the night before, sitting at a table in the middle of the empty hospital canteen with a bowl of ice cream in front of her.

Karin was waving her hand so manically Sakura was afraid it would come loose off its socket. The redhead patted the chair beside her in invitation. Sakura walked over but opted to take the chair opposite Karin.

Karin smiled widely, showing off her perfectly straight teeth. "I'm glad we ran into each other, it's been a while since I've seen you."

Sakura returned her smile awkwardly. "We just saw each other last week. What are you doing here, though? I thought you had finished your observation of the hospital."

The Sound nin swallowed a spoonful of ice cream, moaning quite lewdly as it rolled around her mouth. "I came to get a bit of dessert. I heard the cooks made their ice cream from fresh strawberries. It's really quite heavenly. Have some!"

Before Sakura could protest she found a spoon in her mouth. Barring the fact that she had just technically swapped saliva with Karin, it really was quite good.

"What do you think?" Karin asked expectantly.

"It's delicious," Sakura said as she wiped away some stray cream on the side of her mouth.

"You must think me childish for being so excited about something so small. But we don't enjoy things like this back in Sound," Karin told her.

"How come?"

Karin sighed, a pensive look coming over her face. "There's a downside to living in a country that doesn't let in civilians. Everyone's so rigid and completely focused on becoming the strongest ninjas in the world that they forget everything else. There's no culture, art or history or even fine cuisine."

Sakura looked at her thoughtfully. "I never knew that. I've never been to Sound myself."

"You're not missing much. Everything is so bare; all the structures we have concentrates on just functionality with no sense of aesthetics." Karin looked up at her; her thick eyelashes making her red eyes pop out. "But if you ever decide to visit I'd gladly show you around. I'd make sure you'd have a very good time."

Something about the way she phrased her offer disturbed Sakura gravely. She forced a smile on her face. "I will keep that in mind," she said.

Sakura looked down at her hands, her fingers fiddling with each other. She could hear the soft clanking of Karin's spoon against the bowl. She looked up just in time to watch Karin licking the strawberry cream off her spoon.

"Karin-san, it's actually good that we ran into each other today. I've been meaning to ask you something," Sakura said slowly.

Karin leaned forward, her chest pressing against the table, looking as eager as a kid before Christmas. "Ask away."

"It really isn't so much of a question as it is a request." Sakura took in a deep breath; she had never pictured she would ever do something like this when she had agreed to marry Sasuke. "I ask that you not include my husband's letters in your book."

Karin arched an eyebrow at her, lips curling into a moue. "May I ask why?"

Sakura twisted the platinum wedding band resting on her left ring finger. "Sasuke and I haven't been married for very long. I'm afraid if you publish those, it would cause unnecessary stress on my marriage."

Karin took the time to finish her ice cream, the clink of her spoon against her bowl beating in time with a tick-tock of a clock. When she finished she set down her spoon carefully inside the bowl and wiped her mouth daintily with a napkin.

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

Sakura's head shot up to see Karin's smug grin taunting her.

"If something as inconsequential as letters written almost a decade ago could threaten your marriage, then perhaps it isn't something worth fighting for," she finished staunchly, eyes twinkling maliciously behind her cat-eye glasses.

Sakura had no idea what propelled to say her next words. All she knew was she had been provoked and she wasn't going to take it lying down. "Then I challenge you to a duel. If you win, you get to do whatever you want with those damn letters, and if I do, then we follow my rules."

Karin's red tinted lips curled into a pleased smile. "You're on, Mrs. Uchiha."

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: The girls plot. Hinata cross dresses. Suigetsu flirts. Karin does something. Sasuke is livid.
> 
> End Notes: So I hope that turned out well. I was trying to be purposely vague with Sakura but at the same time I didn't want her feelings, once finally revealed, to come out of nowhere. Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Please tell me what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Next Chapter: Baubles and shiny things are not the way to a woman's heart.


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